Yoenis Cespedes has been other-wordly since joining the Mets, but he’s been doing a good portion of his damage away from Citi Field.
In 23 games on the road the slugger is hitting .352 with 11 HR and 21 RBI, while at home he has a .241 BA with 4 HR, and 6 RBI, albeit in eight fewer games.
Last night Cespedes continued his tear on the road by going 3-5 with a HR and three RBI, and was the catalyst for the Mets first run as he a hit a double that drove in Curtis Granderson to give the Mets an early lead.
Since joining the Amazins he’s hitting an astounding .313 with 15 HR and 39 RBI, all in 38 games. He is third in the majors with 76 extra-base hits and is slugging .642 on the road this year, second best mark in the majors.
It is believed that the Mets intend to make a serious push to re-sign Cespedes. According to CBS Sports’s Jon Heyman, he does not believe it is likely for Cespedes to accept an offer that isn’t the best on the table, so it would be in the Mets best interest to aim as high as they can.
Of course there are other teams that are expected to also make a push to land the slugger. The Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Phillies, Angels, Cubs, and Yankees are all expected to be interested. Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, and Alex Gordon are other big name outfielders who will become free agents in the off-season.
I personally have seen all I need to see. I understand that with Cespedes comes a little bit of baggage as pointed out incessantly by SNY, but to me, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
His short time with the Mets has been epic and historic. Cespedes has 28 extra-bases in his 38 games with the Mets and is the first player in modern major league history with at least 28 extra-base hits in his first 40 games with a team after having started the season with another team.
I myself have never witnessed somebody completely carrying a Mets team quite like this while in a pennant race in my 26 years following this team. The closest thing for me was maybe Mike Piazza back in his prime with the Mets, or perhaps even Carlos Beltran back in 2006 when he hit 41 home runs.
The bottom line is, I truly believe signing Yoenis Cespedes in the off-season is something the Mets need to do. If it requires them spending a little more money than they would like, then so be it, but you’re getting one of the most dynamic five-tool players in the game entering the 4-5 prime years of his career.
It’s not a coincidence that the Mets went from having the worst road record in the league, to the best since August 1. The difference is Cespedes.
