The biggest move the New York Mets made at last year’s trade deadline was acquiring Cuban Slugger Yoenis Cespedes. However, it seems that his time in Queens will be short and sweet.
By Aniello Piro
Acquiring Yoenis Cespedes was probably the best thing the New York Mets did in all of 2015, but we all knew that he was out of Queens after the season.
Between the finances and club house issues, it just doesn’t seem likely that Cespedes will be wearing a Mets uniform in 2016.
“It’s unlikely right now that he ends up a Met,” Mets assistant GM John Ricco told Adam Rubin of ESPN.
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Personally, I am happy Cespedes will be out of Queens come 2016, and this is coming from a guy that was the biggest Cespedes fan.
Lets face it, Cespedes just got blazing hot at a time which proved to be critical for the Mets. Yo hit .301/.352/.689 in the month of September, but really wasn’t all that good the rest of the way.
He struggled big time in the playoffs. He hit a measly .222 in the postseason and failed in what seemed to be every time with runners in scoring position in close games.
Another one of Cespedes’s biggest downfalls proved to be laying off the high and inside fastball. Every single time a pitcher needed a strikeout against Cespedes they would throw a heater high and tight, and Cespedes would chase every single one. You could tell him it was coming up and out of the strike zone, and he would still swing. It got old really quick.
Another huge downfall was that Yoenis always swings like he’s trying to hit the ball 500 feet. No matter the count, Cespedes would swing for the fences regardless of the situation he was in. This proved to be the deciding factor in the World Series as the Mets were unable to grind out runs in pressure situations.
He also played a big role in the Mets Game 1 loss of the World Series. If you recall, Cespedes allowed an average pop out to fall in the gap resulting in the Mets being down 1-0.
The guy is a flashy, prime time kind of player who loves to play in the spotlight, but when it came down to the World Series he vanished and was not heard of the entire series.
Cespedes has also played for four teams in two years, another factor that is quite telling.
It just seems that Cespedes doesn’t have that “it” factor you have to have to be successful in New York, which is why we will not see him in Queens next year.
ICYMI #Tigers “looking at” Yoenis Cespedes and Alex Gordon as OF options. Click for more: https://t.co/yPRYWZzmP2 pic.twitter.com/ffsCLHIOV4
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) December 7, 2015
Finally, probably the biggest reason we will not see him in New York next year is the money. As with every Mets free agent target money is always a factor. Cespedes will control some where in the $160 million dollar range. A range that is worlds apart from what the Mets are willing to spend.
Yoenis is an above average player at times, but also can be a ghost at others. This, along with the money is why he will not be in Queens next year.
It is in the best interest of the Mets to let him walk because they have a good core of prospects that are nearly MLB ready. There is also no need to pay that much money for a guy that is so streaky.
Bottom line is that Cespedes is not the big bat the Mets are looking for, therefore the Cespedes era in New York has come to a close.
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