Photo By Ed Delaney, MMO
Upon being prompted to talk with the media today, Yoenis Cespedes declined to be interviewed. Tim Healey of Newsday tweeted out that Cespedes responded “Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year” when approached by the media with questions about his wild boar incident.
Cespedes, 34, represents the biggest enigma on the Mets roster. If healthy, his bat would represent a major addition to the Mets lineup. But it’s a complete mystery what the Mets are going to get from the Cuban slugger.
Throughout his four-year, 110 million dollar pact with the Mets, Cespedes has battled various leg injuries, most recently an ankle fracture from an encounter with a wild boar on his Florida ranch (can’t make this up, folks). As a result, he had his 2020 salary renegotiated to a six million dollar base with 13 million dollars available in incentives.
In 2018, Cespedes also underwent surgery to repair double heel calcifications. While recovering from that surgery, he had his incident with the boar.
Although he’s missed virtually the last two seasons, Cespedes has declared himself healthy for the 2020 campaign, claiming that he’ll hit 52 home runs. In addition, he’s been posting highlight reels on his social media accounts.
He’s started hitting and running down at Port St.Lucie and will fully participate in the Mets’ first full-squad workout today.
Tim Britton of The Athletic notes that the CBA, which is jointly signed by the MLBPA and all 30 MLB clubs, mandates that all players must be available to talk with the media.
