Yoenis Cespedes is coming back to Flushing after the Mets stunned everyone and agreed to a three year, $75 million dollar deal with a first year opt-out clause on Friday night. The right-handed slugger hit .291/.328/.542 with 35 homers, 42 doubles and 105 RBI last season, including a .287/.337/.604 slash line with 17 homers, 14 doubles and 44 RBI in 57 games after his trade from the Detroit Tigers to the Mets. Here are some notable reactions from around the media.
Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports
He is not just any free agent agreeing to rejoin his old team. No, Cespedes became something else on Friday night. A symbol to fans. A reminder that not every player seeks every last dollar. A hero for however long he remains a Met — or at least until the first ball he boots in center field. The deal is an absolute triumph for general manager Sandy Alderson and Mets ownership, who never wavered from their three-year limit even after news of the Nationals’ superior offer emerged.
Jared Diamond, Wall Street Journal
Remember when Yoenis Cespedes restructured the clause in his contract and it seemed like a public relations move more than anything else? It wasn’t. A reminder: From August 1st through the end of last season, after they acquired Cespedes, the Mets led the National League in runs, home runs and OPS.
Bob Klapisch, The Record
What a coup for Mets to get Cespedes at three years, $75 million. Huge boost they needed.
Marc Carig, Newsday
Huge move by the Mets, who now have a more New York-appropriate payroll. Cespedes marches to his own drummer. Turned out it worked in the Mets’ favor. Lineup gets a huge boost. Just like at the trade deadline, so many things had to happen for it to be possible. The 2016 New York Mets — favorites to defend their NL East crown.
Richard Justice, MLB.com
Cespedes was already wildly popular with Mets fans after what he did for them last summer. And he’s going to be something akin to a folk hero after apparently turning down a larger offer from the Nationals and possibly one other team. Rather than follow the money, he stayed with the Mets for an even better reason. He’s happy. He likes his teammates, the city, etc.
The Mets’ entire offseason suddenly looks different. With the acquisitions of second baseman Neil Walker, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo, the defending NL champions are significantly better than they were on Opening Day last season.
Ken Davidoff, New York Post
The Mets are bringing back trade-deadline hero Yoenis Cespedes, and on their own terms, to boot: Three years at $75 million, pending a physical examination, with an opt-out after the first year. It’s nothing short of mind-blowing, and for the Mets, it constitutes an epic triumph of patience and goodwill.
Their leadership told us for months that Cespedes very likely wasn’t going to come back after his superb three-month fling, and they based that on a common-sense assumption. After all, the Mets didn’t want to give Cespedes more than three years, and the idea that he would settle for such a short deal after hitting 35 home runs and capturing so much attention appeared nothing short of preposterous.
But Cespedes’ eccentric personality, the same personality that had Mets fans more than happy to bid him good riddance following a bad World Series, ultimately worked to the Mets’ advantage. He really did want to come back to his fourth employer, it turned out. So much so that, even after an offer from the rival Nationals hit the nine-figure mark, Cespedes instructed his representatives at Roc Nation Sports to call the Mets and talk through that three-year deal.
Mike Vaccaro, New York Post
The Mets, hovering under a cloud of inferiority for so long, have emerged as a destination place. And why not? There’s all that pitching. There’s the NL pennant they’ll raise toward the sky at Citi Field on April 8. And now, there is Cespedes, who did the most incredible thing Friday night: He left a huge pile of money on the table in favor of a lesser pile of money. He wanted to be a Met. That’s not just a culture change. That’s a full-blown metamorphosis.
John Harper, Daily News
So much as it may kill them, fans have to give the Wilpons credit for green-lighting Alderson’s decision and taking on a huge salary almost nobody thought they’d be willing to absorb.
Of course, it’s fair to say it took some extenuating circumstances to make it happen. For one, I believe the outrage from Mets fans on the issue did push ownership, and perhaps even Alderson, to get a deal done, especially after Cespedes made it clear he wanted to stay.
Andy Martino, Daily News
This was the most remarkable free agent pursuit I’ve ever seen. They never pursued Cespedes, a top player, and got him anyway. Make no mistake — this is basically the one-year deal the Mets wanted all along.
Barry Svrluga, Washington Post
More than any other figure, Cespedes put the Nationals in their current predicament. His arrival in Queens at the trade deadline last summer completely altered the National League East race. Here, then, in January, he altered it again, taking less money over fewer years to remain with the Mets — securing the reigning National league champions’ position as the divisional favorite again, at the expense of their chief rivals.
