Yoenis Cespedes‘s media silence did not last long. On Sunday morning, he spoke to the media and addressed several topics.
Off the bat, Cespedes said that he did not want to speak about the past during this interview. He acknowledge that he made a mistake and paid for it, and left it at that.
He then touched upon what is the biggest question: will he be ready for Opening Day?
Cespedes believes that he can be, if he continues to progress the way that it has been. Of course the team will have to be cautious at the start with Cespedes, but having him ready for Opening Day (or as close to Opening Day as possible) is a huge step that will greatly impact this team. Since September, he has been waking up at 5 a.m. every day for his rehab and treatments. He has been working hard to get back on the field as soon as he can.
Cespedes was then asked on a scale of 1-10 how motivated he is to succeed this season. His answer? A 12 – which he said himself, without hesitating, and without the use of his translator. We know that Cespedes wants to be playing, contributing, so this isn’t a surprise, but it’s always good to hear.
Will Cespedes be hitting 40 home runs this season? Back in December, Eduardo Perez made a comment on MLB Network about how Cespedes told him “I’m ready. I’m going to go out with a bang this year. I’m not just going to hit 40 home runs.” This comment was brought up during his interview, where he answered that if his legs are healthy, he definitely thinks it’s possible. I think we can all agree that if Cespedes is healthy, this is possible.
Hearing all of this coming from Cespedes is reassuring, exciting, and one of the best ways that a Mets fan can start their day. He showed that he is determined to get back on the field as soon as possible, determined to contribute to this team again, and determined to stay healthy. If he can follow through with all of this, the 2020 Mets season should be much different than the last.
