Mets Reach Deal With Yoenis Cespedes!

Yoenis Cespedes and the New York Mets have agreed to a three-year deal worth $75 million dollars, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The deal includes a provision that Cespedes will be able to opt-out after one year (in which he will make $27.5 M).

The deal also includes a full no-trade clause. MLB Network’s  Jon Heyman followed up Rosenthal with a confirmation that the deal is indeed done. Jim Bowden of ESPN was the first to report that the two sides were making progress.

Cespedes hit .291 with an .870 OPS and 35 home runs in 2015. The Cuban slugger mashed 17 home runs in 57 games after being sent to the Mets at the trade deadline, powering New York past the Washington Nationals to the NL East title en route to a World Series run. Cespedes also won a Gold Glove for his work in Left Field with the Tigers.

Cespedes gets the security of a $75 million guarantee and lands the top annual salary for a hitter this offseason, while getting the chance to opt-out and be a top prize in a weak free agent class next year. In all likelihood, this deal only keeps “Yo” in Queens for one more year, but Cespedes turned down higher offers, including one from the Washington Nationals, to stay with the Mets, the team he wanted to be with all along.

Thoughts from Joe D.

Bringing back Cespedes will likely push the team’s payroll to roughly $140 million dollars and that’s a great sign anyway you look at it. But more importantly, his addition surely makes the Mets the odds-on favorite to win the National League East and arguably the World Series as well. This could potentially be a 96-98 win team this season.

That Cespedes turned down more years and significantly more dollars from the Nationals to return to the Mets makes this so emotionally satisfying as a fan. This has to be quite the gut-punch to the Nats, who have now been spurned by Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Justin Upton, and now Cespedes – even though they had higher offers to them.

You have to admire Cespedes who not only showed himself to be an exceptional talent and impact player, but also that he is a man of integrity as well. He said all along he loved playing for the Mets. He said all along he wanted to return to the Mets. And evidently he meant every single word of it. Amazing. Tons of respect for this man.

What else can I say… I’m absolutely thrilled and overjoyed… A truly fantastic job by the unwavering and always tactical Sandy Alderson for delivering an incredible offseason as the Mets look to defend their NL Championship with gusto and bravado. This is a huge win for the organization and their commitment to winning cannot be understated with this signing. Let’s Go Mets!