Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is sure that he will be ready to play when the Mets open the season on July 24, Bob Nightengale was among those to report.
Cespedes, 34, has become something of a forgotten figure in the Mets’ plans over the previous two years, and it’s easy to see why. He hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since July of 2018 thanks to ongoing injury issues. Assuming he is indeed able to take the field on Opening Day, it’s up for debate just how big a role he will play with the 2020 Mets, but one has to think he’ll be given ample opportunity to prove his worth to the club.
While the team has constructed a solid lineup and a good outfield despite Cespedes’s long-term absence, his return would nevertheless be a promising development for the club. Especially given the unique circumstances under which the 2020 season will be played, it can’t hurt to have a former MVP candidate at your disposal. And with just 60 games on the slate, the added depth will be as important as ever.
With the National League set to play with 2020 season with a Designated Hitter in the lineup, Cespedes should have plenty of opportunities to get at-bats, whether in left field or at DH. That said, it figures that manager Luis Rojas will want to deploy him in a timeshare at either spot, with J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith having earned their share of playing time too; neither has the lengthy resume that Cespedes boasts, but both have proven reliable more recently.
We’ll have to wait and see how quickly Cespedes can re-adjust to the challenges of facing Major League pitching in a game setting, and it’s certainly reasonable to temper expectations for his return to action. He’ll almost surely have trouble replicating the results that earned him a four-year, $110MM contract in 2017, but his experience might quicken the acclimation period. To be sure, welcoming Cespedes back to the team could yield considerable benefits for the Mets; reintroducing a slugger of Cespedes’s ilk to one of the stronger lineups in the National League could be the boost the Mets need to enter the NL’s upper echelon.
Either way, the Mets will think of Cespedes less as a franchise cornerstone and more as a wild card, especially since an amended contract lessened the team’s obligations to him and shifted his 2020 earnings to an incentive-heavy arrangement. The ceiling is still high if he hits the ground running, but there won’t be as much of a sunk cost if he fails to return to his previous form.
I wish nothing but the best for La Potencia!
Having the DH now there’s no excuses he better be ready. If not DH perfect for Cano.
Cano and Cespedes have robbed so much money from the Mets that somewhere they are making Bernie smile
So, players should get paid based on performance alone? Sure, when the teams refund ticket and concession costs when the team loses.
Don’t forget Lowrie, 10 mil for 9 games.
First, players are offered contracts based on their past performance, not paid as they produce. Second, both moves were gambles. At the time, they were reasonable ones. Cespedes had an unbelievable end to 2015 and a solid 2016. When healthy, he has been good even if his defense has declined. His kind of power is hard to come by.
As for Canó, the Mets were trying to prevent the Phillies from getting Díaz. Yes, last year was a disaster for him, though he’s still young. Yes, the Mets gave up top prospects in Jared Kelenic and Justin Dunn. Yes, the Mets only got about $20M from Seattle toward Canó’s contract. The Mets could’ve gotten more salary relief, but that would’ve required Jeff McNeil instead of Gerson Bautista.
Lol this thought process
I wonder if his incentives for this year are scaled to the number of games in this “season”.
Any production would be welcome at this point.
No hog hunting before opening day was hopefully 1 of the items included in his new deal.
He still plays?
Yankee fan.
Screen name probably gives that away. 🙂
But I’m secure in my fandom. Meaning I don’t spend any time “hating” on the Mets. Or Jets. Or nets. Or… well, who cares about hockey? Uh?
Hope Cespedes can, indeed, play.
He’s good.
He’s exciting & shows up to play in big games.
*Plus* he’s a fellow boar hunter. So I pretty much have to root for the guy, man.
“Root”, good one!
Nuisance animal in most all southern states. Open season 365 days a year, which imagine lots of people in some areas not aware of and dangerous to come across up close by surprise in the wild.
Packs roving can do lot of damage.
I heard Cespedes beat the heck out of that boar….. he’s an avid wrestling fan with a ring in his backyard. Rumor has it that he really hurt himself with a leg drop off the top rope. He did give that boar a dirt nap though. The other theory is, he super kicked a boar and could have broken it like that. So it was either that big leg drop or the sweet chin music. Either way, if he stopped fighting animals he would be ok.
Unbelievably destructive creatures. &, as you point out they have no respect for bipedalism.
I take a trip every February to the Southeast. Next Feb I’m going to North Carolina. Grouse, geese, shad, & tuna during the day. Wild hogs with a muzzleloader at night.
Hey. We all have fun our own way, man.
The virus will dictate whether Cespedes is truly ready for opening day.
What!? @emerson
There’s literally not a single word in the article about Cespedes and Covid. Not one, bro.
However, there are numerous articles today *about* Covid-19. Take your Covid HOTTAKES! there. Please show some respect for the fellas that are here to talk some baseball, man.
I’m being plenty respectful, bro.
I’d appreciate the same treatment.
We *all* would.
Merci.
You should end another sentence with “man” or “bro”
Lol
It’s my “conversational posting” style, man.
🙂 It was only three. Is there some kind of limit? Or quota?
Bro?
relax bro
Give it a week, brotato.
Give *what* exactly a week, aBROham Lincoln?
Hey, if you’re going for “mysterious post” you did it. If you are actually trying to “prove” some kind of point… well, I believe you’ve fallen short.
Uh?
Best I can make out of this is you’re saying in a week Cespedes will have Covid.
Honestly? I’ll take that bet.
😉
Honestly bro, your an idiot
* you’re, bro.
Why do you gotta call him an idiot my guy? Don’t be mad because that guy pulled the “bro” outta you. That guy likes using “bro”.
Clown
I honestly forgot he existed.
Cespedes has a lot to prove. I hope he still has something left, I’m glad the Angels didn’t sign him as some were hoping for.
Who cares? Cespedes was in severe decline *even when he was playing.*
Had a very brief, 2 year peak, in 2014-15. Was worth half of 2015 by fWAR in 2016–and that was 4 years ago. He couldn’t stay in the lineup, is probably too slow even for LF…
How many _healthy_ 34 year olds are playing even 1/2 time in MLB? And those are the players without major injury histories. The chance he’ll contribute meaningfully, particularly when the games are played for real, is barely above zero.