Yoenis Cespedes Removes Barrier to Re-signing in New York
By Matt Snyder
When the Detroit Tigers traded outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, many fans held out hope that he would sign back with the Tigers in the offseason after he hit free agency. Cespedes had previously expressed his desire to come back to Detroit on a free agent deal, according to reports.
But Cespedes has changed his tune somewhat in the weeks following the trade. He told reporters in New York that he’d like to be a Met for a “long, long time.” And today the New York Post is reporting that Cespedes and the Mets changed language in his contract that would have forced the Mets to release him if they couldn’t work out an extension within five days of the end of the season.
"The Mets and Cespedes’ representatives changed the clause in his contract that would have given the Mets only five days after the World Series ended to sign him long term or not be able to do so again until May 15"
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We discussed this contractual clause in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. The clause basically served as a way to prevent a team from extending him a qualifying offer (and potentially reducing his value on the free agent market).
Today’s announcement seems like a big deal — and it sort of is for the Mets, if they want to re-sign him — but the collective bargaining agreement already prevents players who were traded mid-season from receiving a qualifying offer, so Cespedes was not at risk for a Q.O. once the trade from Detroit to New York occurred.
By re-wording the language in his contract all Cespedes is doing is allowing the Mets (hello New York market) to stay in the bidding with everyone else. There’s no downside for Cespedes, but he gets the upside of allowing another major market team into the free agency discussion.
This announcement does make it easier for the Mets to re-sign Cespedes this offseason, but really it’s about Cespedes getting the biggest payday possible as a free agent in the prime of his career. In the end he’s going to land with whichever team submits the largest offer.
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