Yoenis Cespedes was not available for the start of the New York Mets’ game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, and the team was unable to provide an explanation as to why.
Shortly after the first pitch was thrown in the game, the Mets issued a statement saying Cespedes did not report to Truist Park in Atlanta and had not been in contact with the team. The Mets said they made unsuccessful attempts to reach him.
BREAKING:
Statement from Brodie Van Wagenen – “As of game time, Yoenis Cespedes has not reported to the ballpark today. He did not reach out to management with any explanation for his absence. Our attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful.”— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) August 2, 2020
Cespedes played both Friday and Saturday against the Braves, so it’s unclear why he suddenly went missing. He has two home runs in eight games thus far this season and has appeared to be healthy despite coming off a fractured ankle and multiple heel surgeries.
This is not the first time the Mets have had a player go AWOL, as Matt Harvey no-showed a few years ago and the team sent security to look for him. Harvey ended up getting suspended, which made sense given the reasons for his absence. Hopefully everything turns out OK with Cespedes.
