Yoenis Cespedes has made a massive impact for the New York Mets since his arrival in 2015. What can they do if he doesn’t return next season?
It has been unofficially official for a while now, but New York Mets star OF Yoenis Cespedes has now actually opted out of his deal with the team, including the remaining two years on the contract, worth $47.5 million.This is déjà vu from last offseason for Mets fans, as the process of bringing back their beloved slugger has officially restarted. But if Queens really is where Cespedes wants to end up, he better hop on that train before Mets GM Sandy Alderson starts pulling away.
It's OFFICIAL. Yo opts-out.#Mets #Cespedes
@HennessyNYY https://t.co/fkTKxf9Lvl— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) November 5, 2016
The Mets and Alderson waited out Yo’ last offseason, choosing to let him test the free agent market. Cespedes finally decided to return to New York on Jan. 23, signing a three-year $75 million deal, including that all-important opt-out clause after one season, which he exercised.
But Alderson has made the Mets’ intentions much clearer this offseason, telling the New York Post, “Certainly from our standpoint, between now and the Winter Meetings, and through the end of the Winter Meetings, would be the right time to get some of these issues resolved,” referring to the Cespedes situation.
The Mets have offered a one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer to Cespedes, but this is just a mirage offer — a way to ensure they receive a compensatory draft pick if Cespedes signs elsewhere.
So with the Cespedes situation just beginning to unfold, here are seven ways the New York Mets can make do without Yo’ in the lineup in 2017.
