Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes told reporters on Tuesday that he would love to remain with the Mets.
“This is something I can’t control,” Cespedes said through an interpreter Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t know what the front office is thinking about. But with what I see so far, I would love for everything to work out and stay as a Met for a long, long time, because I like the atmosphere.” (ESPN New York)
Here’s the deal though, as we wrote about on Friday and again on Monday, Cespedes has a clause in his contract that stipulates that he must be released by the Mets before the free agency period begins.
That means Cespedes would not be able to re-sign with the Mets until May 15 of next season. So in other words, an extension would need to be worked out before he becomes a free agent. Otherwise he’s gone. And there’s no draft compensation either.
Cespedes knows fully well the details and special clause in this contract, so that he would come out and say that he love to remain with the Mets, signals that he’s willing to negotiate an extension during the season
“The first thing you can see is the pitching,” Cespedes said. “Every team needs pitching, and I think we have enough pitching to go all the way to the finals.”
“Other teams that I’ve been around, they scored four and they give up four. This team, if we score four with the pitching that we have, we’ll be able to compete and go to the finals. The energy that everybody feels from the pitching staff and the hitters is a plus.”
It will be interesting to see how Sandy Alderson handles this one. With Michael Cuddyer now relegated to part-time duty, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to bring him back on a reasonable deal. And with his ability to play centerfield, it wouldn’t impede Michael Conforto next season and beyond.
Thoughts?
