The New York Mets and Yoenis Cespedes have come to an agreement to lower his $29.7 million salary after the mysterious injury on his ranch.
According to multiple sources, the New York Mets and Yoenis Cespedes have come to an agreement that will cut Cespedes’ salary for the 2020 season by a significant margin.
This is likely why the Mets felt comfortable giving Rick Porcello a $10 million contract. Before this agreement, the Mets were within $2 million of the luxury tax threshold.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the agreement will save the Mets well over $10 million.
The amended contract of Yoenis Cespedes, which @martinonyc first reported, includes a settlement for salaries that the Mets withheld in 2019 as well as a significant reduction of his 2020 salary. Mets will save well over $10 million as part of the settlement, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 13, 2019
That makes this agreement the single biggest salary cutting move the Mets could have made this offseason. Even trading Jed Lowrie or Jeurys Familia wouldn’t have gotten the Mets that much money. Both of those players are set to make $10 million in 2020.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, there was the possibility of a hearing concerning the injury Cespedes suffered on his ranch.
Sources: Mets and Cespedes were moving closer to a hearing related to his ranch injury and a potential contract violation. This settlement enables the player to stay w team one more year, and enables team to pay him a lot less.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 13, 2019
The move allows Cespedes to stay with the Mets in 2020. It also avoids his contract being avoided. The Mets had a legitimate case to void Cespedes’ contract due to his injury off-the-field at his ranch.
However, Cespedes will have the ability to earn that money back. According to Tim Healey of Newsday, the Mets translated most of Cespedes’ guaranteed money into incentives.
Breaking: The Mets and Yoenis Cespedes have reached an agreement that lowers his 2020 salary but adds incentives, sources say.
The grievance stems from Cespedes’ injury suffered in May on his ranch in Florida.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) December 13, 2019
If Yoenis Cespedes returns to the field and plays like the MVP-caliber player Mets fans know he can be, then he’ll get his money back. This was the best-case scenario for Cespedes.
Considering the strange circumstances of his injury, it’s possible the Mets won their grievance against him. If that had occurred the Mets would have owed Cespedes nothing.
Cespedes would than have become a 34-year-old free agent with a long injury history. Not to mention, he is coming off one of the most devastating surgeries in baseball, calcified heel surgery. Cespedes surely didn’t want that.
More is yet to come, but this is a good thing for the Mets. It also opens up more salary for the team to spend.
