New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is doing what he can to ensure that he stays healthy in 2018 and one way he’s hoping to do so is staying off the golf course. Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Cespedes hasn’t played since last July and doesn’t plan on playing again during the baseball season.
Puma also reports that Cespedes stopped playing golf at the recommendation of Mets’ strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis because he would receive better rest and recovery in addition to improving his hydration.
Cespedes caused a little bit of a stir back in the summer of 2016 when he was having trouble playing with a quad injury that ended up putting him on the disabled list but was still playing golf.
At the time, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said while he wasn’t worried about Cespedes getting hurt playing golf that it was bad optics.
Cespedes played in a career-low 81 games in the 2017 season though he did slash .292/.352/.540 with 132 OPS+, 17 doubles, 17 home runs and 42 RBIs. He had a right hamstring strain that cost him most of the season and officially ended it in August.
The 32-year-old Cespedes also spend the offseason doing yoga as another way to help him stay on the field more. Yo noted that he needed to be more flexible and agile than he has been in recent years.
Getting 140 games or so from Cespedes would go a long way in helping the Mets be contenders in 2018.
