Yoenis Cespedes has proven that his performance with the New York Mets last season was not a fluke but just a preview of how well he could perform over a 162-game season. With “La Potencia” being the heart of this offense, it may be time to approach him to discuss a contract extension to keep him in Queens.
Prior to this season, Cespedes signed a three-year, $75 million deal. The problem with that though is that he has the ability to opt-out after this season to test free agency once more.
With a weak free agent class that would surely see him be the biggest name on the board, combined with yet another great offensive season, it would seem to be a no-brainer that he goes this route.
As much as his love for New York has grown since July 31st of 2015, his love for big time money may be greater. The time is now for the Mets to engage Cespedes in contract negotiations to ensure that he stays a Met for years to come.
So far on this season he has put together an impressive slash of .302/.372/.583. He has hit 21 homers to go along with 52 RBI and 47 runs scored. Overall his numbers of a Met in 137 games played have been anything short of amazin’, hitting to a .295/.357/.593 slash as he has accumulated 38 homers and 96 RBI with 86 runs scored.
Cespedes has yet to play a full season with the Mets in his combined time from 2015-2016 but has put up numbers that some of the best players do not even reach yearly. Losing him would be an absolute detriment to this offense. If there is anything this team would be able to pull off with him to make sure he does not reach free agency, now would be the time to do it as the clock slowly ticks towards what could be the imminent departure of their slugging superstar.
