Latest Update 2:30 PM
It appears that with no team willing to offer Yoenis Cespedes a long-term deal, the Mets and White Sox now have some added competition as a few new teams are jumping into the fray.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Washington Nationals are now showing interest in Cespedes after losing out on Justin Upton. Like the Mets and White Sox, they will consider him on a short-term deal of three years or less.
The Miami Marlins have also discussed pursuing Cespedes also on a “short-term deal,” Rosenthal adds. However, it’s difficult to see a fit as long as they still have Marcell Ozuna on the team
Meanwhile, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that if Cespedes doesn’t get the long-term deal he seeks, the Braves are ready to move on a short-term deal if he wants.
So apparently the NL East sans the Phillies are all-in on Cespedes plus you still have the Cardinals. Astros, Blue Jays and Angels. That’s quite a crowd and none of them want to pony up the 5-6 years and the big bucks.
The way I see it, if every team is only interested in a three-year deal, we already know Cespedes loved playing for the Mets. The other thing is, maybe the team that goes four years breaks the tie?
Original Report 7:00 AM
It’s amazing to see how the free agent market for Yoenis Cespedes has evolved this offseason. You may recall that on day one of the free agent filing period, the representatives for Cespedes at Roc Nation had an expensive interactive coffee table style book developed and presented to select teams as reported by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
“In a bow to technology, the book also has a video player embedded inside the front cover. Executives who push the “play” button are treated to an array of Yoenis Cespedes home runs, jaw-dropping throws and other highlights set to music.”
Fresh off an MVP-ish caliber season, Cespedes was supposed to be one of the hottest and most wanted commodities of the offseason, with all of the talking heads projecting a six year deal valued at $130 million or more for the right-handed power hitter.
However, teams never lined up for Cespedes as expected and his market has been the slowest to develop among all the available big bats.
On Monday, free agent outfielder Justin Upton agreed to a six-year contract with the Detroit Tigers worth $132.75 million, and yet another potential suitor for Cespedes bites the dust.
The New York Mets got a lot of flak early in November, when they took a three-year or nothing posture with Yoenis Cespedes. And at the time I wrote that maybe the Mets were actually ahead of the curve and being the adults in the room.
Since then, we’ve seen a lot of teams with reported interest come and go, with almost all of them balking at a long-term deal for the Cuban slugger.
In an offseason fraught with plenty of spending madness and vast ungodly sums of dollars being thrown about with such reckless abandon, Cespedes is still on the outside looking in.
And the more Jon Heyman keeps tweeting about a dozen teams clawing at each other for the opportunity to bestow Cespedes with a gigantic mega deal, the sillier he looks. The more Heyman keeps reporting there’s no way he goes to the Mets for three years or less, the more likely it appears that’s exactly the kind of deal Cespedes may end up getting.
Where are all these teams that are reportedly smashing down the door for Cespedes? Who are they?
With the Tigers and Orioles now out of the mix, and the Houston Astros saying they were in no way making a huge push for Cespedes as Peter Gammons was reporting, who exactly is still actively engaged?
What we do know is that the Mets are still willing to give Cespedes a three-year, $60 million dollar contract, as reported by the New York Post. That same three year deal that Jon Heyman scoffed at six weeks ago. The same three year deal that I’ve yet to hear one other MLB team top.
The Braves, Phillies, Cardinals and Angels are among the remaining teams with reported interest, but I just don’t see it. Instead I see the White Sox and Mets standing alone as the most obvious fits for Cespedes.
“I talked to Sandy Alderson today, and hopefully we’ll continue to move forward in those negotiations,” manager Terry Collins told reporters on Sunday. “I don’t know where Cespedes is at contract-wise with anybody else, but I know he wants to come back to New York if he can. He’s a great player and we’d love to have him back.”
I still believe the Mets are very much in play here. I don’t know how much money the White Sox are willing to throw at Cespedes, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to get that 5-6 year mega deal he’s been looking for.
I could be wrong, but the Mets have played their hand on Cespedes rather nicely. Will it be enough to bring him back to Flushing? Who knows, but one thing is certain and that is that the Mets are still not out of this – square peg and all. Regardless of what the so-called experts are saying.
