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Yoenis Cespedes

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes’ Recovery

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Injuries have derailed Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes’ career over the past couple seasons, but the 34-year-old is finally progressing toward a return to a major league diamond. On Monday, Cespedes tweeted a video of himself sprinting, swinging a bat and catching a fly ball at the Mets’ spring training headquarters in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (hat tip to Matt Kelly of MLB.com)

While it may not sound like much, any footage of Cespedes performing baseball activities is encouraging at this point. The injury-riddled Cespedes has gone from star to afterthought dating back to 2017, having appeared in a meager 119 regular-season games since then. He didn’t play past July in 2018 and didn’t suit up at all last year on account of foot problems. Cespedes fractured his right ankle in May as a result of a dust-up with, of all things, a wild boar at his ranch in Port St. Lucie.

If there’s a silver lining for the Mets, it’s that Cespedes’ boar battle did lead to some financial relief for them. The team stopped paying his salary for 2019 sometime last season, and the two sides reached an agreement on an amended contract back in December. Consequently, New York will shell out $6MM to Cespedes this year instead of the $29.5MM he was supposed to earn. That’s a positive development for the club’s books, but it’s obviously not the outcome the Mets envisioned when they re-signed Cespedes to a four-year, $110MM deal before the 2017 season.

Cespedes is now going into the last season of his pact, though it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll come close to resembling the player he was before his health troubles arose. It’s also up in the air just how much playing time Cespedes will garner in 2020, as the Mets have a strong mix of other corner outfield-capable players (Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith) and could add yet another starting-caliber OFer in trade target Starling Marte. There’s also no designated hitter role for Cespedes to fall back on, and he can’t make a regular shift to first base with NL Rookie of the Year winner Pete Alonso entrenched at the position.

Details On Yoenis Cespedes Injury

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It always seemed there’d be an interesting tale when details finally emerged regarding Yoenis Cespedes’s mysterious ranch injury last year. And indeed the story spun by the New York Post baseball team of Joel Sherman, Ken Davidoff, and Mike Puma isn’t a boring one … well, not exactly.

The ankle injury Cespedes suffered, which occurred while he was rehabbing from surgeries to both heels, put him on the shelf for the remainder of the 2019 season. In concert with preexisting leg issues, the new malady put the remainder of Cespedes’s career in doubt. It also spurred an effort by the Mets to avoid much of the remaining money they owed him, resulting in a recent agreement on an amended contract.

As it turns out — drum roll, please — Cespedes was injured when he plunged into a hole during some kind of interaction with a wild boar. Precise details aren’t clear, and probably don’t matter much at this point. It’s not difficult to imagine some of the myriad ways in which one might end up in a compromised position while in the vicinity of such a creature.

Cespedes came clean about the matter from the outset, at least in the main, according to the report. All involved may or may not agree on all the particulars, it seems, but they have generally accepted that the malady was indeed boar-related.

So, what’s a player contract say about an injury that results from such an unlikely series of events? It depends upon the precise details of that player’s own pact, some of which include specially negotiated language. Whether there’s anything relevant in the Cespedes contract isn’t known in this case. Section XVI(B) of the Uniform Player Contract does prohibit players from engaging in “any other sport or activity involving a substantial risk of personal injury,” though that provision is framed in the context of engaging in sporting events and its application to this factual setting would no doubt be a matter of some debate.

Had the sides ended up in a grievance proceeding on the subject, they’d have been forced to engage in an exploration of both the full facts and the proper interpretation of the contract. (If there are any unique clauses in this deal, the interpretation of which could conceivably have required exploration of the original negotiation of the contract, current Mets GM and former Cespedes agent Brodie Van Wagenen would’ve been even more hopelessly conflicted than he was already.) After weighing the costs and risks, the sides instead settled on the aforementioned renegotiation, with the blessing of MLB and the MLBPA.

Mets, Yoenis Cespedes Agree To Amended Contract

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DECEMBER 21: Under the amended contract, Cespedes will see his 2020 base salary drop from $29.5MM to just $6MM, according to a report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. However, that number will hike up to $11MM as soon as Cespedes is on the active roster or the IL with an injury unrelated to the contentious ankle fracture. Cespedes will still be able to reach the $20MM threshold through a series of plate appearance bonuses totaling $9MM; if he reaches 650 plate appearances, he will earn that entire amount.

Earlier Updates

5:25pm: Cespedes’s pocketbook has taken a huge hit, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. In addition to losing some of his 2019 earnings, he’ll now be guaranteed less than $10MM for the season to come. He can earn his way back to the $20MM range through the incentives.

For the Mets, the benefit comes primarily from the perspective of cash accounting. It’s unclear whether this modification will be reflected in the calculation of the team’s payroll for purposes of computing the competitive balance tax. Even if so, the reduction presumably wouldn’t be dollar-for-dollar (barring some special treatment), since the CBT refers to the average annual salary of a contract.

4:29pm: Much but not all of the guarantee can be recouped via performance and awards bonuses, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

3:58pm: There’s more to this story (and more sure to come). The Mets stopped paying his salary at some point during the 2019 season, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The organization also brought a grievance action relating to Cespedes’s 2020 earnings.

The involvement of Cespedes’s 2019 salary adds another wrinkle to this. For one thing, it seems the club has been saving on its hefty obligations to the veteran slugger for some time. (Timing remains unclear.) For another, it appears there was quite a lot more cash at stake in the dispute than was already evident. Cespedes was due to earn $29MM last year.

3:21pm: The Mets and injured outfielder Yoenis Cespedes have agreed to “amend” the remainder of his contract with the team, according to Andy Martino of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Details of the arrangement aren’t yet clear, but it seems there is a modification to the salary Cespedes will earn in the coming season.

As things stand, Cespedes is due $29.5MM in the final season of his four-year deal. He’ll remain under contract, but at a lower rate. The modification relates to the injury suffered this May. Cespedes shattered his right ankle in an accident on his ranch while recovering from successive surgeries to both heels.

While we still lack a full public accounting of how Cespedes was injured, it seems clear that he was in a jeopardized position with regard to his contract. This settlement — which surely involved the league and union — will allow both sides to avoid the cost and strain of a full-throated legal battle. For the Mets, they now know just how much they will save on their obligations to Cespedes at a key juncture in the offseason.

The Mets entered the winter with a payroll predicament. This news promises to free up a good chunk of change to put towards other uses. The club will still have Cespedes on hand as a complete wild card — his talent is undeniable but his physical capabilities are at this point unknown — but can divert a substantial portion of what it would’ve paid him to other purposes. The club had reportedly been looking to move some underperforming contracts as a means of freeing payroll. Just how the offseason course will be impacted by today’s news remains to be seen.

NL East Notes: Bumgarner, Ryu, Cespedes, Nationals, Phillies

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The Braves weren’t willing to go beyond a three-year contract for Madison Bumgarner, and “it seems highly doubtful” they would go to four years for Hyun-Jin Ryu, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes.  Atlanta’s interest in Ryu is something of a new development, but Bowman feels it could be more due diligence on the Braves’ part than anything else, in case Ryu’s market shifts within the two- to three-year range.  Multiple teams have been linked to Ryu this offseason, though it remains unclear whether any club will be willing to stretch to four years for a hurler who will be 33 years old on Opening Day and possesses a lengthy injury history.

The latest from around the NL East…

  • Could Yoenis Cespedes be a trade chip?  A deal seems unlikely, but MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports that the Mets have received some trade interest in the outfielder in the wake of last week’s news that Cespedes’ salary has been reduced to less than $10MM, though with significant incentives that could make it worth $20MM (assuming Cespedes gets on the field at all in 2020, of course).  Cespedes has a full no-trade clause, though DiComo speculates that Cespedes might welcome a change of scenery to a team that could offer him DH at-bats, or just to get away from “a team that successfully filed a grievance against him.”  It could be that rival teams are open to absorbing Cespedes’ contract as a method of acquiring some younger talent from New York, similar to how the Giants recently took Zack Cozart’s salary off the Angels’ hands in order to land shortstop prospect Will Wilson, or how the Mets themselves are trying to attach a younger player to Jeurys Familia or Jed Lowrie in a trade.
  • The Nationals’ fifth starter competition is examined by Sam Fortier of the Washington Post, who reports that Erick Fedde has a minor league option remaining.  This might not bode well for Fedde’s chances, as the Nats could send him down to Triple-A in favor of Austin Voth or Joe Ross, who are both out of options.  That’s assuming, of course, that D.C. ends up going forward with one of these three in-house arms as the fifth starter.  Fortier notes that the team was seemingly satisfied with this same trio last winter before signing Jeremy Hellickson prior to Spring Training, so it isn’t out of the question that the World Series champs could pursue another low-cost veteran before the offseason is out.
  • We haven’t heard much about David Phelps about this offseason, but Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer feels the right-hander would be a good (and relatively inexpensive) addition to the Phillies bullpen.  After missing all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery, Phelps had a solid comeback year in 2019, posting a 3.41 ERA, 2.12 K/BB rate, and 9.4 K/9 over 34 1/3 innings for the Cubs and Blue Jays.  Phelps pitched under Phils manager Joe Girardi with the Yankees in 2012-14, and when asked about the reliever at the Winter Meetings, Girardi praised Phelps’ versatility, game preparation skills, and good numbers against both right-handed and left-handed batters.

NL East Rumblings: Rendon, Nats, Martinez, Cespedes, Mets, Hatcher

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Now that Stephen Strasburg has been re-signed to an expectations-shattering $245MM contract, it doesn’t seem like the Nationals could manage another mega-deal to bring back Anthony Rendon…or could they?  Both Nats GM Mike Rizzo and agent Scott Boras (who represents both Rendon and Strasburg) told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters that the third baseman could still potentially return to Washington, despite owner Mark Lerner’s recent comments about his club not being able to afford both free agents.  “Well, when you look at those comments, and then you look at the structure of this particular deal and the structure of deals we’ve had getting up to where we are right now, I think that Mark realizes that there’s ways to fit players in,” Rizzo said, in reference to the deferral-heavy nature of both Strasburg’s contract and several other major Nats contracts in recent years.

Boras also spoke of how Strasburg “directed me to negotiate and create a value, a fair-market value for him, but also a structure that allowed the team to continue at a championship level.”  Naturally, it wouldn’t be good business for Boras to create any impression that a wealthy suitor had dropped out of the running for Rendon, though the fact that he has had such a long history of negotiating deals with the Nationals perhaps gives his comments some added weight.  “I think when you go to do these contracts — in fairness to Mark and everyone else — is you really don’t know what can be done inside a contract to create opportunities so that aspects of the team can be looked at a little differently than was even anticipated,” Boras said.

More rumblings from around the NL East…

  • Not that a World Series-winning manager should necessarily be worried about job security, but Dave Martinez tells NBC Sports Washington’s Todd Dybas that he isn’t concerned about entering the final guaranteed year of his contract.  The Nationals hold a club option on Martinez for the 2021 season, though just making through 2020 would make Martinez (somewhat incredibly) the first person to manage three full seasons for the Nats since the club moved from Montreal prior to the 2005 season.  Martinez didn’t give any indication of extension talks, though even with the Nationals’ unusual history of managerial hirings and firings, it looks like stability might have finally come to the dugout.
  • Yoenis Cespedes is hoping to return to the field in 2020, and Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) that the outfielder has begun throwing and running programs.  A series of leg injuries forced Cespedes to miss the entire 2019 season, and limited him to just 119 games in 2017-18.  Naturally, Van Wagenen was cautious about the possibility of a comeback for the outfielder, saying “We have to be smart and not assume anything from anyone and try to create talent on our roster and try to create impact.  If he’s at his best, he’s a high-impact performer.  We’ll have to see how that plays out.”
  • In other news from Van Wagenen’s media briefing, he said finding depth for both the rotation or bullpen is a main focus for the Mets.  The club may also look at adding a backup infielder and backup catcher.  The latter could spell some trouble for current backup catcher Tomas Nido, who was one of the game’s better defensive catchers in 2019 but hasn’t shown any hitting prowess during his three MLB seasons (albeit over only 244 career plate appearances).
  • The Marlins have hired Billy Hatcher as the team’s new first base coach, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports.  Hatcher brings 21 years of coaching experience to Miami, after long stints with both the Rays (1998-2005) and Reds (2006-18).  Trey Hillman will move from first base coach across the diamond to coach third base next season, to accommodate Hatcher.  In other Marlins staff news, assistant hitting coach Eric Duncan has been promoted to hitting coach.

Yoenis Cespedes Appears To Have Resumed Baseball Activities

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In a since-deleted Instagram video posted by minor-league Mets coach (and long-time former big leaguer) Endy Chavez, rehabbing slugger Yoenis Cespedes is shown taking batting practice. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo covered things via Twitter.

While this fleeting glance at Cespedes doesn’t really tell us much, it’s the first meaningful look at his progress in quite some time. Serious heel and other leg injuries cost Cespedes huge chunks of the 2017-18 campaigns and all of 2019. All told, he has played in just 119 games since the close of his strong 2016 season.

Cespedes has continued to hit when available, and he’s still being paid quite handsomely for one more season ($29.5MM), so the club has an obvious interest in getting him back on the field. At times it seemed a late-2019 return might have been possible, but there was never anything close to a run-up towards the majors.

GM Brodie Van Wagenen seemingly downplayed the likelihood of a significant contribution in 2020 when he addressed the matter recently, saying that lacks “enough information to predict when [Cespedes is] going to be back.” Of course, there is one other way to read that. The Mets understandably don’t want to set expectations and surely also would like to keep things quiet when it comes to negotiating with rivals and free agents.

All of that is to say: if indeed Cespedes is presently capable of swinging the stick, even if in a limited BP setting, that seems to be good and rather notable news. As I noted in discussing the Mets’ offseason outlook earlier today, the complexion of the outfield could look quite a bit different if Cespedes is part of the picture — especially if he can show enough to be relied upon right out of Spring Training. It’s not hard at all to imagine rather significant impacts on the team’s offseason maneuvering based upon the status of Cespedes, though certainly the organization will need to be wary of presuming too much about his health.

Brodie Van Wagenen On Mets’ Offseason Plans

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Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who’s in the early stages of a crucial second offseason on the job, spoke to reporters about the team’s winter plans Monday. The club’s on the heels of an 86-win season, its third in a row without a playoff berth. There are obvious need areas on the Mets’ roster, then, but it’s up in the air how aggressive they’ll be this offseason with seemingly limited spending room under the budget of owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon.

Infielder Jed Lowrie and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes are among the players clogging up New York’s payroll. Injuries prevented either from factoring in much or at all in 2019, but they (Lowrie – $9MM and Cespedes – $29.5MM) are slated to occupy almost $40MM of the Mets’ payroll next season. Lowrie at least logged some playing time in September, meaning he should be good to go at the start of 2020. However, Lowrie won’t have “a normal offseason considering what he went through last year,” according to Van Wagenen, who noted the Mets have “continued to try to diagnose what Jed’s issues were that kept him out this season” (via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). But signs point to the Mets rolling with Lowrie, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis as their third base options in 2020, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. On paper, that’s a capable trio, and with Robinson Cano at second base and Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto as the Mets’ top two corner outfielders, it would make sense for Lowrie, McNeil and Davis to share the hot corner.

The ongoing presence of Cespedes further complicates the picture in the outfield, but as Van Wagenen said last week, there’s still no indication as to whether he’ll be able to play next year (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Cespedes, the Mets’ highest-paid player, missed all of this season because of ankle issues. If the Mets were sure Cespedes would miss at least 60 days next year, they’d be able to recoup 60 to 70 percent of his money by way of insurance. For now, though, the team doesn’t seem to have any idea as to whether Cespedes will significantly weigh on its payroll going forward. 

Regardless of what happens with Cespedes, it seems center field should be a priority for the Mets this offseason. The Mets tried Juan Lagares, Nimmo and Conforto there to underwhelming results in 2019. Lagares is now a free agent after the Mets declined his club option, while Nimmo and Conforto are likely better cut out for corner roles. Indeed, the Mets want to improve their defense in center, per Van Wagenen. Problem is that free agency’s not loaded with obvious solutions at the position, while the best trade candidates at the spot (Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte and Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr.) earn fairly expensive salaries. That’s without adding in the assets they’d cost to acquire, and it’s worth noting Marte’s coming off a poor year as a defender.

Aside from center field, Van Wagenen cited pitching – both rotation and bullpen – as well as backup catcher as areas the club could address in the coming weeks (Twitter links via Mike Puma of the New York Post, Healey and Thosar). The Mets have one of the highest-profile free-agent starters in the game in Zack Wheeler, whom they issued a $17.8MM qualifying offer. While they’d like to re-sign Wheeler, it’s entirely possible he’ll end up out of the Mets’ price range, which would leave them with a still-enviable top of the rotation in Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz. The team lacks depth after that foursome, though Van Wagenen pointed to David Peterson, Walker Lockett, Chris Flexen and Corey Oswalt as in-house options. If you’re a Mets fan who’s unexcited about the majority of that group, that’s understandable. But Peterson, MLB.com’s seventh-ranked Mets prospect, at least carries some intrigue. The 24-year-old, a 2017 first-round pick, reached the Double-A level this season and notched a 4.19 ERA/3.19 FIP with 9.47 K/9 against 2.87 BB/9 in 116 innings.

As for the Mets’ bullpen, it’s no surprise they’re interested in bettering a bunch that largely fell flat this year. The Mets were aggressive in trying to bolster the unit last offseason, evidenced by the acquisitions of Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson. But Wilson was the only effective member of the trio, and given that the Mets could move either Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman to their rotation, their relief corps looks like an even bigger concern at the moment.

While it’s unclear how the Mets will configure their pitching staff next year, it seems their hurlers will primarily end up throwing to Wilson Ramos. The veteran catcher was yet another of the Mets’ headline-grabbing pickups from last offseason who may not have delivered as hoped in 2019. But despite his defensive deficiencies, the 32-year-old Ramos did record yet another fine offensive campaign. With $9.25MM owed to Ramos next season, it seems the Mets will continue to ride with him behind the plate and seek a defensively sound complement to place behind him.

The Mets are undoubtedly in for a fascinating offseason. The club’s not short on talent, but there are clear flaws at the same time. If Van Wagenen doesn’t find a way to repair them, and if the Mets miss the playoffs yet again, it’s possible they’ll be on the lookout for a new GM a year from now.

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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It’s easy to forget about him after back-to-back injury-ruined seasons, but Yoenis Cespedes is still a member of the Mets. When the club re-signed Cespedes to a four-year, $110MM contract entering 2017, he was coming off his latest star-caliber showing at the plate, but it proved to be the first of three straight painfully short seasons for the outfielder. Cespedes played 81 games that year, 38 in 2018 and none this season. Heel and ankle problems kept Cespedes off the field this year, and the Mets aren’t sure when or if he’ll return in 2020, Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports relays.

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who happens to be Cespedes’ former agent, said Monday it’s “too early to tell” about his chances of playing in 2020. There’s not “enough information to predict when he’s going to be back,” Van Wagenen added. As Ehalt points out, Cespedes’ up-in-the-air status only serves to complicate matters for Van Wagenen, who’s in a crucial second offseason atop the Mets’ baseball department, as well as the organization as a whole.

With a $29.5MM salary, the 34-year-old Cespedes is the Mets’ highest-paid player. Because Cespedes’ contract is insured, the club’s in position to recoup 60 to 70 percent once he misses 60 days, Ehalt notes. But if the Mets don’t know how much time Cespedes will sit out in 2020, it could make it that much more difficult for a team that already may be spending above its comfort zone to invest money into weaker areas of the roster. Furthermore, there’s a case that even a healthy Cespedes would be superfluous to New York’s roster. The club’s in fine shape at both corner outfield spots, where it boasts Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo as regulars. Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith (who looks like a trade candidate) also played those spots frequently in 2019 and more than held their own offensively.

If there’s one place the Mets could upgrade in the outfield, it’s in center, though Cespedes wouldn’t be able to help there. And if Cespedes’ injuries and age make him a subpar outfield option in general nowadays, there’d be no clear place to put him on a team that has NL Rookie of the Year front-runner Pete Alonso manning first and isn’t part of a league that features a designated hitter.

While the Mets were undoubtedly excited to re-up Cespedes three years ago after he opted out of his previous deal with the club, his presence has been disastrous for a large portion of the contract. Cespedes’ money could help prevent the Mets from improving their roster to the fullest extent possible this offseason as they try to break a three-year playoff drought in 2020.

Yoenis Cespedes Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

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The Mets announced Thursday that Yoenis Cespedes underwent surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2019 season. Cespedes recently suffered multiple fractures in his right ankle after falling at his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Presumably, today’s procedure was tied to that injury, although the Mets’ press release did not specify anything beyond the simple fact that Cespedes had surgery.

Cespedes was never a lock to contribute to the Mets this season anyhow after undergoing surgery to alleviate calcification in both of his heels in 2018. The latter of those two surgeries was performed early in the offseason, and neither Cespedes nor the Mets had put a firm timeline on his recovery. This new injury renders any speculation about his recovery from heel surgery moot.

Now 33 years of age, Cespedes has only played in 119 games for the Mets since re-signing a four-year, $110MM contract in free agency. That deal wasn’t viewed as any sort of albatross at the time — Cespedes was coming off a .282/.348/.554 showing in 792 prior plate appearances with the Mets from 2015-16 — but injuries have turned the deal into a regrettable one. Cespedes has unquestionably been excellent when on the field in 2017-18, hitting .282/.343/.525 with 26 homers, but the Mets will get just 478 plate appearances out of him in the first three seasons of that nine-figure contract. It’s reportedly insured to an extent, so they won’t be out the full $29MM he’s owed in 2019, but it’s nevertheless an awful outcome for the club.

In an ideal world, Cespedes would be healthy and ready to go for Spring Training 2020, but the Mets didn’t offer any update on a potential timeline for his return. He’s owed $29.5MM next season in the final year of his contract.

Yoenis Cespedes Fractures Ankle In Accident At His Ranch

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Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes suffered “ankle fractures” in an accident at his ranch in Port St. Lucie over the weekend, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced Monday afternoon. Additional information was not provided, and it’s not known how far back this will push what was already a murky timeline for Cespedes’ return. He’s being evaluated by medical professionals in New York City today. Tim Healey of Newsday adds that Cespedes sustained multiple fractures in his right ankle after stepping in a hole and experiencing a “violent” fall (Twitter link).

Cespedes underwent a pair of surgeries last year to address calcification in both heels, the effects of which were expected to sideline him until at least midway through the 2019 campaign. There was no defined timetable for his return to baseball activities, but it’s difficult to imagine him allowing this new injury to heal and still having enough time to build up to a return this season.

Now 33 years of age, Cespedes is in the third season of what has become an ill-fated four-year, $110MM deal with the Mets. The slugger was an instant hero in Queens upon being acquired minutes before the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline, as he led the Mets’ World Series charge with a .287/.337/.604 performance down the stretch. He returned on a three-year, $75MM contract that allowed him to opt out after the first year of said deal and, after posting a superlative .280/.354/.530 line and making the NL All-Star team, he did just that. Cespedes was viewed as a vital piece of the team’s offense at that point, and his four-year deal to return to the club was generally met with favorable reviews.

Hamstring troubles limited him to just 81 games in the first season of the new contract, though when healthy, his .292/.352/.540 slash was right in line with expectations. His offensive performance in 2018 was strong as well (.262/.325/.496), but he was limited to an even smaller set of 38 games, thanks to the aforementioned heel troubles that ultimately required surgery. Now, it appears possible, if not likely, that Cespedes won’t even match that total in 2019. He’s being paid $29MM both this season and next. Specifics of the policy aren’t known, but it’s been reported that Cespedes’ contract, as was the case with David Wright, is insured, so the team won’t be out that entire $29MM sum this season.

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