Mets players have heard conflicting stories on Yoenis Cespedes opt-out

The confusion surrounding Yoenis Cespedes’ decision to opt out of the 2020 season apparently extends to New York Mets players as well.

Cespedes opted out of the 2020 season on Sunday, but the story that came out was that the Mets were only informed during their game after the outfielder didn’t show up and didn’t make any contact with the organization. That’s one story the Mets have heard, but according to Brandon Nimmo, they’ve also heard that Cespedes’ agents informed the Mets of the outfielder’s intentions before the game Sunday.

Brandon Nimmo says he and his Mets teammates heard that Yoenis Céspedes' agents actually informed the Mets he was opting out before Sunday's game.

He's also heard the Mets' official story, that the team was blindsided during the game.

Nimmo said he doesn't know which is true.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 3, 2020

While the players aren’t really owed a direct explanation, it’s not a great look for them to be left unsure a day after one of the team’s key players opted out. The stories are also radically different — one makes Cespedes look bad, and one makes the Mets look incompetent.

One thing that does seem clear is that Cespedes had reasons other than COVID-19 concerns that contributed to his decision to end his season early.