NEW YORK, NY - JULY 24: Yoenis Cespedes #52 of the New York Mets looks on from the dugout in the first inning against the San Diego Padres on July 24, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

New York Mets star Yoenis Cespedes is ahead of schedule in his rehab. That doesn’t mean he’s ready for game action just yet.

According to New York Mets manager Luis Rojas, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has looked good so far. That said, he’s only at about 75% right now.

Per Coby Green of SNY, Luis Rojas told the media, “Well, I think it was a really big week for him. He’s advancing, he’s progressing, he’s doing things every day that just impress you… obviously limited in the movement laterally and covering ground… but he’s out there, he’s moving, getting behind balls, making throws in…he’s basically going through the schedule at let’s say 75 percent of it, 80 percent of it from what everyone else is doing.”

Rojas said Cespedes specifically asked to have live batting practice this week, “Hey, I haven’t seen pitchers in a while.”

Rojas was impressed.

“And he’s able to hit those guys after not seeing pitching for a while, and take those guys like he did with (Jacob) deGrom yesterday.”

Rojas says the biggest surprise so far this spring has been the fact that Cespedes is with them, which is definitely a good sign. Fans may hear “75%” and be worried that Cespedes, who has been worn down by injuries since coming to New York, is a ways away from rejoining the team. That’s not the case; he’s getting there and he’s actually ahead of schedule.

The 34-year-old has a career slash line of .274/.328/.498 with an OPS of .826, and OPS+ of 126. He’s a two-time All-Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover, and finished top-10 in MVP voting twice.

Cespedes missed most of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery on both heels. While he was recovering from the surgeries in 2019, he fractured his right ankle in an incident involving a boar on his ranch. He missed the entirety of 2019.

The Mets lineup is completely different when Cespedes is in it and Rojas is aware of this fact, “… We know that he’s going to cause a great impact on our team and our lineup, so we’re really looking forward to that… definitely, you can feel that when it’s time, he’s going to cause great impact.”

At this rate, Cespedes should be back with the Mets in no time. He can help the team begin their quest to the World Series.

Leen has written about the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and international soccer. She is currently the primary NHL writer for ESNY. Leen's work has been featured on Bleacher Report and she was formerly a contributor for FanSided's New York Mets blog, Rising Apple. She is a co-host of the Yankees-Mets Express podcast.