There has been conflicting information about whether New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will opt out of the final two years of his contract with the team, but the latest reports claim he is planning to do just that.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, Cespedes is planning to officially opt out of the $47.5 million remaining on his deal shortly after the World Series concludes. That does not, however, mean the 31-year-old is leaving the Mets. Heyman reports that the Mets have had an “open dialogue” with Cespedes and will likely try to re-sign him, though they have not made a huge push to prevent him from hitting the free agent market.
Cespedes has played some of the best baseball of his career since the Mets acquired him at the 2015 trade deadline. He batted .280 last season with 31 home runs and 86 RBI, and he would likely be the top free agent on the market along with Edwin Encarnacion. Baseball executives predict Cespedes will get somewhere in the range of a four-year, $100 million deal and possibly more.
Even if Cespedes enjoys playing in The Big Apple, it would be unwise to turn down guaranteed long-term security just to honor the final two years remaining on his deal. If the Mets want to keep him badly enough, they should have no problem tacking on another two or three seasons.
