In Cespedes We Trust

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The best thing to compare the 2015 Major League Baseball season of the New York Mets to are the highs and lows that are associated with the stock market. The Mets record has fluctuated this season and if they were indeed a stock that was purchased this past May or June, the stockholders would be happy people right about now. In April, the Mets won 11 games in a row and they became the talk of baseball as they’ve been a franchise that has been moribund for so long, but then they became the talk of New York City. As the season went along, the Mets record began to dip and by June 24, they had a losing record as it seemed like they were on the track to becoming the “same old Mets”. The main problem for the Mets this season has been their hitting as they’ve ranked near the bottom of most offensive statistical categories in the National League, but they were able to get a reprieve in late July.

In a trade that raised some eyebrows as the Mets appeared to simply be reshuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic, New York acquired infielders Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe from the Atlanta Braves in late July. And in typical Mets fashion, they botched a trade that would have seen them re-acquire outfielder Carlos Gomez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for shortstop Wilmer Flores and starting pitcher Zack Wheeler. After this the Mets were taking a beating in the New York media for their handling of the trade until they received a shot at redemption when they acquired outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers. The acquisition of Cespedes has now given the Mets a form of life that they have lacked for a very long time.

Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes is the true definition of a five-tool player as he has power bat, hits for average, he has speed on the bases, he has a strong throwing arm, and he has defensive range in the outfield. And the baseball fans in the United States are no stranger to what Cespedes can do as they’ve seem him be a productive player over the past three years for the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, and Tigers.

But before Cespedes came to New York, the Mets lineup lacked an identity as it appeared to be kept together by spit and glue whereas now that have themselves a legitimate cleanup hitter. In 23 games with the Mets, Cespedes is batting .311 with 7 home runs and 21 runs batted in. And over that stretch, Cespedes is already seventh on the team in home runs this season. Since August 1 when Cespedes began playing for New York, the Mets are 17-6 and they are now in first place in the NL East with a 6.5-game lead over the Washington Nationals. The Mets offense has exploded to the point that they have scored 10 runs in a game five times since Cespedes joined the club as to only doing it once before the trade.

Over the past few days, Cespedes has been on a personal tear. In the Mets 14-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies this past Friday night, Cespedes went 5-for-6 which included him hitting three home runs; one of which was a grand slam. And in the Mets 16-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies this past Monday night, the team set a franchise record by hitting eight home runs which was capped off by a two-run blast from Cespedes in the ninth inning as New York finally has an offense to compliment their pitching staff that is currently third in the NL this season in team earned run average at 3.31.

Since the acquisition of Cespedes, the Mets front office has a good problem on their hands. With the recent surge of the Mets, attendance is up at Citi Field as they now have more than a puncher’s chance to make the playoffs. But all is not well in New York as Cespedes is set to become an unrestricted free agent this winter unless the Mets are able to pony up the bread to keep him there.

Once this season concludes, Cespedes will only have four years of MLB service, but being that he played for several years on the Cuban National Team, his former agent Adam Katz worked out a clause in his initial contract with the Athletics which forced the team that he last plays for prior to becoming a free agent, to release him if no new deal is in place to prevent him from becoming a free agent. And per MLB rules, that team could not re-sign him until May 15 of the following year. The Mets have between now and five days following the conclusion of the 2015 World Series to blow Cespedes and his new representatives of Roc Nation Sports away with an offer that would make him balk at free agency in order to remain in Queens. So the onus is now on Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon who has been crying poverty over the past few years to overspend on Cespedes or he will face a revolt from the team’s fan base.

With Cespedes at the core of the Mets lineup, New York has a team in place that can not only make the playoffs, but do some damage there as well. Cespedes made a name for himself on the MLB in the small market of Oakland before having a cup of coffee in Boston and Detroit respectively. But there is nothing quite like being able to do it on the big stage of New York City which has been known to make or break the best of them. Cespedes is a native of Cuba and with a large Latino population in the Big Apple, they would welcome him there with open arms if he decided to stay long term.

Contractually we don’t know what will happen with Cespedes and the Mets, but the only thing that they can do in the meantime is to ride the wave of momentum that he has created around him in New York City.

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By | 2015-08-26T22:54:49+00:00 August 26th, 2015|Categories: Major League Baseball|Tags: , |0 Comments

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