Yoenis Cespedes‘s comeback is in full swing!
According to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, Mets’ general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said that Cespedes “hitting progression has reached the point where he’s ready to go for spring training on the offensive side.”
With that, Van Wagenen also added that Cespedes has increased “the exertion level that he’s doing on his running,” as per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
On Monday, the outfielder took it upon himself to post a video of himself running, hitting and fielding to Twitter. In December, Cespedes began a running program but this was the first video posted showing his progress.
The 34-year-old missed all of the 2019 season and faced injuries throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons. After 2018, Cespedes underwent surgery on his heels and later injured his ankles in an incident with wild boars on his Port St. Lucie ranch keeping him out in 2019 as well.
Cespedes is going to be entering his fourth and final year of the contract he signed with the Mets’ before the 2017 season. Last month, however, his contract was changed, and reduced from $29.5 million to a base of $6 million that can increase to $11 million if he is ready for Opening Day. He can earn up to $10 million back in performance-based incentives.
Throughout his four years with the Mets’, Cespedes slashed .282/.346/.543 with 74 home runs and 201 RBI.
