Talking to Kevin Kernan of the NY Post, Jose Reyes spoke very highly of Yoenis Cespedes. He also mentioned that he, as well as the rest of the Mets clubhouse, want Cespedes back.
“I talked to him like one week ago, he is still waiting,” Reyes said. “We want him back. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but for sure we want him back.’’
“Every team needs a player like Cespedes in the lineup,’’ Reyes continued. “He’s a game-changer. I tried to talk to him to better convince him to coming back, but that is something I can’t control. Not only me, but every player on our ballclub wants him back.”
This says a lot about Cespedes’ attitude. He had been on four teams in a span of two years (Athletics, Red Sox, Tigers, Mets), which led many to believe he was traded because of a poisonous clubhouse attitude. However, others such as myself maintained that he was traded so many times because so many teams wanted him.
That will be the case this offseason. Every team will want him. While only a handful of teams will actually bid on him, is has become clear that those rumors about his negative attitude were not true, or at the very least, exaggerated.
Kernan also spoke to Curtis Granderson about the subject: “For a year and a half now he has felt really comfortable in the clubhouse, in the community, his family feels very comfortable as well. At the same time there are 29 other teams that are going to make him feel as comfortable as he did here.’’
He clearly loves it in New York. He has said he wants to stay, the players want him to stay, the coaches want him to stay, and the fans want him to stay. Everybody wants him to stay, but unfortunately, there are other teams that want him to leave.
Yoenis Cespedes has taken less money to play for the Mets before, but this offseason, he is the premiere free agent. While quite literally everybody wants him to stay in New York, that doesn’t mean the Mets will be able to offer him enough.
Here’s to hoping Sandy Alderson writes a big enough check to keep Cespedes in left field for years to come.
