New York Mets veteran outfielder Yoenis Céspedes is offensively “ready to go” for spring training after missing all of last year.
Yoenis Céspedes — while many fans aren’t believing it — is confident he can play out a healthy campaign in 2020. The New York Mets outfielder missed all of last year and only played in 38 games in 2018, citing numerous injuries. He originally had surgery on both of his heels and then fractured his ankle in the infamous wild boar incident.
But Céspedes is working to stay in good condition in hopes of a productive season. Before that can happen though, he needs to show he’s capable of staying upright in spring training. Nonetheless, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen is confident that can occur.
BVW says Yoenis has “reached the point where he’s ready to go for spring training on the offensive side,” per Danny Abriano of SNY.
During Céspedes’ last season with over 100 games played (2016 with 132), he hit 31 home runs with 86 RBIs and a slash line of .280/.354/.530. In that All-Star campaign, Céspedes helped the Mets make the postseason for the second consecutive year.
New York has failed to play October baseball since. Thus, if Céspedes is healthy, this ballclub could receive major assistance when it comes to that ultimate goal.
Due to the injuries, the latest of which he sustained on his ranch, the Mets restructured Céspedes’ contract in December. New York originally planned to pay him a base salary of $29.5 million in 2020. That total has since been cut down to $6 million.
