Yoenis Cespedes found a home in Big Apple - and Mets eager to show him love
Watch Yoenis Cespedes long enough, and it’s not hard to marvel at the New York Mets outfielder’s flair for the dramatic, his knack for ignoring any extraneous factors and delivering at key moments.
It’s a quality that has made Cespedes a perfect fit in his season-and-a-half in Queens, and one of the reasons the Mets desperately wanted him back.
Those wishes have been granted, with the club and the Cuban outfielder reaching agreement on a four-year, $110 million contract. Regarded as the top free agent in a weak class after opting out of his three-year deal with the Mets, Cespedes now gets to extend what has been a mutual love affair between him and the country’s largest city.
Cespedes took New York by storm with his heroics after coming over in a deadline trade on July 31, 2015, powering the Mets to a 37-22 record the rest of the way and helping them reach their first World Series since 2000.
Asked during the 2015 playoffs about performing on the big stage, Cespedes told USA TODAY Sports in Spanish: “I like the ruckus (at the ballpark). When there’s a lot of ruckus, my concentration goes to a higher level to where I can’t get distracted, because I can’t hear anything else.’’
Yoenis Cespedes returns to New York Mets on four-year, $110 million deal
He was again a major force last season, when an array of injuries – most notably to third baseman David Wright and the Mets’ vaunted pitching staff – hampered their attempts at defending their National League East crown.
Once Cespedes and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera returned from their own injuries in mid-August, New York made a late run and went 26-13 to earn a wild-card spot before getting bounced out in an elimination game by the San Francisco Giants.
Cespedes reconfirmed his value by batting .280 with 31 homers, 86 RBI and an .884 on base plus slugging in 132 games. Moreover, he drove in 18 runs during the September playoff push, five of them putting the Mets ahead. Three of his last seven homers gave New York the lead late in games.
It was imperative for the Mets to bring him back. Without the two-time Home Run Derby champion, the New York lineup has a collection of hitters of varying skills but not a centerpiece who takes pressure off the rest. Six Mets reached double figures in home runs – the club ranked second in the NL in that department – but only Cespedes drove in more than 65 runs.
Cespedes, who turned 31 on Oct. 18, had already tried free agency before, with mixed results. Widely expected to land a five-year deal with another team last offseason, Cespedes surprised observers by returning to New York on a three-year contract with an opt-out.
That came on the heels of a peripatetic 12-month stretch that had seen him get traded by the Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.
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Getting dealt away by the A’s, his first team stateside, stunned Cespedes, a rare combination of a private person who eschews chit-chat and an attention magnet who is only too happy to showcase his collection of extravagant vehicles.
After so much bouncing around, Cespedes found comfort and peace in the city that never sleeps.
“There are times when you can sign a big contract and go to another team and not be in rhythm,’’ Cespedes told the New York Post in late April. “The biggest thing here is that the way I felt last year, transitioning to this year, I feel at home.’’
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