After another great year on the biggest stage of them all, Yoenis Cespedes finds himself in line for a huge payday if he opts out of his current deal with the New York Mets.
Mike Puma of the New York Post polled various MLB insiders to get a feel of where they believe the market may be for Cespedes this coming offseason, if he were to opt-out.
“He’s at or near the top of the scale as it sits,” said an official from a NL team. “However, I would say he’d probably be looking at something similar to what he has in hand – three years for $75 million. Maybe someone bumps it to four years for $100 million.”
Cespedes is in the midst of another amazin’ year with the Mets, hitting to a .288/.358/.557 slash line. He has 30 homers on the year to go along with 79 RBI. La Potencia has proven that 2015 was no fluke. He has the option of opting out of his current deal five days after the conclusion of the 2016 World Series.
If Yoenis was to keep his current deal with the Mets, he would be owed $47.5 million for the remaining two years. Unanimously, all insiders that were polled believe it is a foregone conclusion that he will opt-out of his current deal. Many though seem to agree that the three-year, $75 million deal that he originally received from the Mets this past offseason is a valid starting point, if he elects for free agency.
“I think the middle ground is adding two more years and 50-plus million to the existing [$47.5] million,” a talent evaluator said when asked on Cespedes’ worth. “I think the Mets would do four [years] for $100 million.”
If it came down to a deal such as the one described, the Mets would have to take the plunge and lock up the man who has carried this offense with ease. Cespedes is too special of a player to let go. He completely rejuvenated a dormant fanbase and brought a winning attitude to this club.
As another talent evaluator though points out, all it takes is one overambitious team to go way above his worth and blow everyone else out of the water.
“Five years, $150 million [for Cespedes] is excessive, it seems,” a talent evaluator with NL East ties said “Thirty million per for five years seems a little high, but $25-27 [million] for four or five isn’t too far off.”
If it came to that amount of years, it would be interesting to see how Sandy Alderson would handle it. Cespedes has shown that he loves to play here and can handle the spotlight and pressure of the big city. The Mets must find a way to bring him back, he means too much to this team to let go.
