Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
In case you missed the news, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns on Sunday (at-risk family member). According to the team, the 34-year-old Cuban product did not inform the club of his decision to opt-out, he simply didn’t show up for work.
Per Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, speaking with the team’s press corps ahead of Monday’s series finale at Atlanta, the team’s account of what transpired may not be totally accurate.
A quick recap:
Mets skipper Luis Rojas acknowledged before Sunday’s game that the lineup was still being worked out since some players had not yet arrived at the ballpark (day game after night game). When lineups were released, Dominic Smith was playing left field and J.D. Davis was penciled into the designated hitter spot. No Cespedes.
During the first inning on Sunday, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen released a statement saying that Cespedes did not show up for work and attempts to contact him had been unsuccessful, and “[Cespedes] did not reach out with any explanation for his absence”.
Naturally, social media exploded with concerns for the veteran slugger’s safety. Shortly thereafter (approximately 2:20 PM EST) the Mets released another statement via the team’s beat writers (as well as some national scribes), assuring all interested parties that the team had “no reason to believe Cespedes’ safety is at risk”.
At around 2:55 PM EST, Baseball Prospectus contributor Rich MacLeod reported hearing Cespedes had opted out on Saturday night.
At 4:23 PM EST, immediately following the Mets’ fifth consecutive loss, Van Wagenen addressed the post-game virtual media scrum regarding Sunday’s happenings, confirming that Cespedes had indeed chosen to opt-out, adding “the team found out late in the game”.
On Monday, Brandon Nimmo offered another side to this story — and a potentially damning one for the Mets.
Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
“[Nimmo] says he and his Mets teammates head that [Cespedes’] agents actually informed the Mets he was opting out before Sunday’s game. He’s also heard the Mets’ official story, that the team was blindsided during the game. Nimmo said he doesn’t know which is true.”
From Tim Britton of The Athletic, “neither [Pete Alonso] nor Nimmo took issue with Cespedes’ decision to opt-out”, adding ” neither criticized him for the way it happened either”.
Van Wagenen’s initial statement — declaring Cespedes all but missing during a live broadcast — appeared premature and, as opined by some, with-agenda at the time. Taking these new developments into account, there’s no telling what could come next in this saga.
We’ll keep you posted with more information as it becomes available.
