Without Yoenis Cespedes, the 2015 New York Mets would not have even made the playoffs. Does that not mean anything to the Mets front office? It sure looks like it doesn't, as the 30-year-old Cuban outfielder remains on the free agent market for what will soon be the third full month.
On July 31, when the New York Mets traded with the Detroit Tigers to receive Cespedes, the team was barely in the playoff hunt. Their offense ranked at the bottom of all categories, and day after day, the team made absolute offensive fools out of themselves.
Once Cespedes made his way to the Big Apple, he adjusted to the pressures almost immediately. It's not often when a player is traded to a team in the midst of a season and makes such a profound impact. That's exactly what happened with Cespedes. He hit highlight reel home runs, and acted as if he was the "King of Queens." The baseball and celebrity world took notice.
With Cespedes driving in runs like a madman, the team rose to the top of the National League East and clinched their first division title since 2006. Once the team entered the playoffs, they easily took care of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. Afterwards, they advanced to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. Unfortunately, the team was taken down easily by the Royals, but they still made their city and fans proud. The Mets made their first World Series since 2000, and New York City for the first time in years became a Mets town. Big deal right? Yes. It was everything.
Now, here we are, and the savior himself is a free agent. At first, it seemed as though Cespedes was going to get a huge contract—I'm talking $200 million. If the asking price was going to be that high, the Mets were generally expected to sit out of the bidding and let Cespedes walk, and that made sense. Giving a 30-year-old player a seven or eight-year deal worth more than $200 million isn't the way the Mets brass typically handles themselves.
It may be that $200 million for eight years is too much for the Mets, but that no longer seems to be the expected contract Cespedes will receive. With fewer teams interested than expected, it ls now looking more and more likely that Cespedes will be forced to settle on a short-term deal.
Now is the time to get a deal done! Cespedes' asking price is slowly dropping, and it makes little to no sense not bring him back for a few years. As a Mets fan, I feel lost and confused. After making the World Series and finally proving the doubters wrong, why can't they retain their best hitter? They made enough money from the playoffs to afford Cespedes, and in my opinion, they have no excuse not to bring him back.
The last piece to the puzzle is slowly making his way out of New York, and as a collective fanbase, we're upset.
