Yoenis Cespedes Said He's Not Opting Out Of His Deal With The Mets (Update: He's Already Backing Off His Comment)
Yoenis Cespedes is now on the record as saying that he intends to play out the duration of his three-year, $75 million deal with the New York Mets, which means that he will NOT opt out at the end of this season.
But the question remains: Would he actually leave? Speaking through an interpreter, Cespedes stayed on message, saying his focus is on “helping the team win so we can hopefully make it to the playoffs.”
When asked by The Record’s Matt Ehalt if he intended to honor all three years of his current $75 million contract, without opting out, Cespedes flatly said, “Yes.”
That right there can only mean one of two things. This decision is either incredibly fucking stupid, or what he’s saying is complete bullshit. There’s really no in between. Cespedes is 30 years old. Without having any data to back this up, and just going purely off of memory, I’d say that 30 years old has got to be the average age that most top free agents hit the open market. This is the age that you cash in on all that you’ve done at the major league level, and ride the wave into your late 30’s, while you’re still being paid a figure that isn’t even remotely close to your productivity level. That’s how baseball works. Guaranteed contracts, baby.
When Cespedes says that he likes the Mets, I’m not doubting that he likes the Mets. But don’t tell me that you’re content with getting paid $50 million over the next two years, and then hitting the free agent market again before your age-33 season. I’m sure your agent has told you that 33-year-old free agents don’t exactly break the bank on the open market, unless their name is Albert Pujols (32, but the point’s still the same), and that contract could go down as the worst of all-time, so I’m sure teams have taken note of how bad of an idea that might be. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that opting out this winter might be Cespedes’ last chance at landing a monster longterm deal.
What could possibly deter teams from committing to something like that? Well, Cespedes has already been with four organizations in the five years he’s been in the big leagues, which could easily be misinterpreted as a red flag, but it’s not at all. The A’s traded him (like idiots) because they needed pitching for their postseason run that went absolutely nowhere, BECAUSE they didn’t have Cespedes. The Red Sox traded him because they also needed pitching, and they knew that he wasn’t interested in signing an extension. The Tigers traded him, because they had fallen out of contention. Detroit was also were aware that he wouldn’t sign an extension, and they knew they could get something of value for him as a rental.
I don’t see any red flags there. The only thing I see is a player who wants a big pay day, which makes coming out and saying you’re not going to opt out all the more confusing. You think $75 million over three years is a big pay day? For what he’s been doing? No fucking way. Since Cespedes made his major league debut at the start of the 2012 season, minimum 500 games played, Cespedes is 15th in the majors in home run percentage, hitting a home run in 4.6% of his plate appearances. He’s in some pretty good company with names like Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, Carlos Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, Mark Trumbo, David Ortiz, Chris Davis, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista ahead of him.
The point is, it’s just really, really peculiar that a guy who was so dead set on cashing in, is now all set with cashing in, now that he’s in a position to cash in. It’s bizarre. Since joining the Mets on August 1 of last year, Cespedes is 10th in the majors in OPS (.938). If he were to opt out this winter, you bet your ass he could do much, much better than $50 million over two years.
UPDATE:
Yeah, he’s opting out. Homeboy’s bout to get paid.