By Jordan Long
The New York Mets reached a deal with one of their prized free agents. Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes agreed to a four-year, $110 million contract. The deal includes a full no-trade clause. According to Foxsports.com, the deal is the 7th highest in MLB history and is the highest for an outfielder on a multi-year contract.
Cespedes is one of the best outfielders in all of baseball. At the plate he drives in runs and gets on base. Last season he hit .280 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI’s. The home runs led the Mets. Those numbers are decent but Cespedes is valuable in the outfield. Cespedes committed only 4 errors last season. His strength is his strong arm because he can throw runners out trying to advance. Cespedes had 4 outfield assists. With his play the Mets went 87-75 but lost in the Wild Card game to the San Francisco Giants 3-0.
At the end of the season, Cespedes could have gone somewhere else, opting out of his contract with two years left. Plenty of teams were interested in him because of the way he plays the outfield. In the end though, the Mets were lucky Cespedes stayed in New York. This keeps the outfield intact, assuming they don’t trade Curtis Granderson or Jay Bruce. Yoenis Cespedes plays left field, Curtis Granderson will be back at center, and Jay Bruce in right.
The Mets are clearly overpaying for Cespedes. He is a decent outfielder but nobody is worth $27.5 million a year. They had to offer this large contract because another team would pay him the same or even more. The Mets are better a team with Cespedes in their lineup. They knew they had to keep him.
Now that the Mets made a move in the outfield, they need to address the pitching, especially the starters. They already lost Bartolo Colón, who won 15 games for them to the Braves in free agency. They must replace him. Once they do, this is a team that could contend to win the National League East and maybe the World Series.
What do you think about the New York Mets keeping Yoenis Cespedes?
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