Last season, the New York Mets won the National League pennant and represented their league in the World Series. While they ultimately fell to the Kansas City Royals, it was a huge step for the franchise that had been clouded in mediocrity for years. They struggled through the early part of the season, but eventually came to life. So what happened? How did they go from average team relying solely on the arms of their young pitching staff to National League champs? The answer: Yoenis Cespedes.
When the Mets brought in Cespedes, he injected energy and fire into the team. He was the spark that they needed. Cespedes and his bat would carry the Mets for the remainder of the regular season. Simply put, he is a dynamic player that brings an energy with him that helps the entire team. Is he the greatest player? No, but he's a darn good one, for sure. He may have faded in the playoffs, showing off some of the negative qualities he brings, but there is no chance the Mets would have made it nearly as far as they did if he wasn't there. And after a long wait, he is back: On a three year, $75 million deal, with an opt-out after one year.
Let's take a quick look at his pros and cons. First off, he has a thunderous bat full of power. He is going to make hard contact whenever he hits the ball, and a lot of those balls are going to end up as home runs. Second, he has a cannon for an arm, which helps the team defensively. If you have never seen him throw out a runner at home, please take a moment to visit YouTube and type in "Yoenis Cespedes throw." Go ahead, the article will still be here. Thirdly, he is an attraction. Fans want to go to the ballpark to see this guy play every day. They want to see him throw a runner out at the plate, or launch a 450-foot homer to straight away center. With this comes the energy he brings with him. He just seems to make everyone around him better.
Now, Cespedes does come with his flaws. He is going to be 30 years old this season, which means we may have seen his best season. He will still be productive for some years to come, but a team will regret giving him five years and a lot of money. Then, throw in his tendency to play lackadaisically. He has a history of making some pretty awful mistakes. Whether he loses interest in certain games or just likes to daydream in the outfield, it's part of his package. There will be games when it looks like he does not want to be there.
Usually, I would be completely against guys who have that rep about them. However, in this case, I think the pros severely outweigh the cons. The Mets simply needed to bring back Cespedes. Without his name in the lineup, who exactly are opposing pitchers going to be afraid of when they face the Mets? Sure, they have a handful of nice names like Granderson, D'Arnaud, Duda and Conforto, but none of those guys are game changers like Cespedes. Without him, center field is manned by a platoon of Juan Lagares and Alejandro De Aza.
Add in the fact that the Mets' time to win is right now. They have a rotation filled with young, talented, and powerful arms. Within a few short years' time, the rotation is not going to have all of these stud young pitchers. Some will leave via free agency and some will get traded because they become too pricey in the Mets' eyes. So the Mets need to capitalize on their chance right now in the next few seasons.
Because of all of that, the Mets, ideally, wanted to give Cespedes a shorter term deal, no more than three years. Cespedes, however, was looking for five years for the security. Since he will be 30 this season, within three years he has virtually no chance of getting another big payday down the road and wanted to capitalize right now.
The Washington Nationals, a division rival who already took Daniel Murphy from the Mets, were the main and maybe only competition for Cespsedes. They were believed to be offering five years and $100 million. The Mets offered three years, but with an opt-out after one.
The one year opt-out is perfect for both the Mets and Cespedes deal. It would give the Mets a shorter term deal they wish for if Cespedes decided to take that route after 2016. It would also allow them to make him a qualifying offer next off-season and potentially gain a draft pick if he left. One would also assume since Cespedes took a shorter term deal from the Mets with an opt-out, he is clearly playing with the idea of opting out. This would mean he may ramp up his production this season to be more attractive come next winter. This is a win for both parties.
So why would Cespedes essentially take a deal just to become a free agent next off-season considering the difficulties he faced this winter? The answer is quite simple: next season's free agent class is extremely weak. There are no Jason Heywards and Justin Uptons, so Cespedes would clearly be one of the top two or three names assuming he has a typical Cespedes season. So Cespedes decided that is more valuable than five years of stability in Washington. His decision took a while because of that stability factor, and because if he has a down season or gets hurt, he would likely stay in New York, but would only have two more years of stability versus four more.
The Mets made the deal more appealing by adding in a no-trade clause and loading the contract in the first year. This gives Cespedes more money this season, and the opportunity to seek the big money again next off-season, as a trade off for the stability. I could have seen the Mets adding a fourth year as an option, but that obviously was not needed.
The Mets and Cespedes are a perfect fit, right now. They both could greatly benefit from this reunion.
