Jose Reyes Talks Yoenis Cespedes, David Wright and 2017 Mets

Mets Re-Sign Yoenis Cespedes for 4 Years and $110 Million

I was hoping for a 5-year deal, but whatever. He's back and that's all that matters because the Mets window for winning is now.

Neil Walker Accepts Mets’ Qualifying Offer; Yoenis Cespedes Rejects It

NYTimes.com:

Second baseman Neil Walker informed the Mets just before a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday that he would accept a $17.2 million qualifying offer for 2017, a decision that keeps one of the team’s two most important free agents in Queens.

The other, the star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, rejected the Mets’ qualifying offer, as expected, making him perhaps the most attractive free agent on the market.

Although Cespedes declined the offer, that does not preclude the Mets from continuing to pursue him. General Manager Sandy Alderson made clear last week at the annual general managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., that the team was serious about re-signing Cespedes.

Alderson had also said the Mets wanted to keep Walker, 31, for next season — and beyond that, if possible. Walker, a switch-hitter, replaced Daniel Murphy at second base in 2016, hitting a team-leading .282 with an .823 on-base plus slugging percentage, second on the team only to Cespedes’s .884. Walker also hit 23 home runs and emerged as a clubhouse leader.

I like Walker, but his injury is a tough one to come back from and with Reyes and TJ Rivera around for next to nothing and capable of playing 2nd base, I figured that the Mets could save some money and put it on a quality relief pitcher instead. Now the question is: do you possibly move Walker to 1st base, let Reyes play 2nd full-time? Because I don't see how Reyes doesn't leadoff and play every day.

Yoenis Cespedes Opts Out of Mets Contract, Walks Away from $47 5 Million

NYTimes.com:

Eight hours after the final out of the World Series on Thursday, the first of many critical periods in the Major League Baseball off-season calendar began. Starting then, teams knew they had until Monday to extend a $17.2 million qualifying offer to any of their players eligible for free agency, who would then have a week to accept.

Teams can exclusively negotiate with their pending free agents until a minute before Tuesday. If no deal is reached, the players may sign with anyone.

Saturday, however, brought one of the most significant dates of the hot stove season: Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes exercised the opt-out clause in his contract ahead of a midnight deadline. He will forgo the $47.5 million and two years remaining on his contract, but given his strong 2016 season, many in baseball think Cespedes could draw offers of $100 million.

During Cespedes’s year and a half with the Mets, his powerful bat helped carry them to the World Series in 2015 and to the National League wild-card game this season. He hit .280 with 31 home runs and a .884 on-base plus slugging percentage in 2016. The Mets would like to retain Cespedes and could employ the same strategy they used last off-season, when re-signing him initially appeared to be a long shot.

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson waited out the rest of the market, and Cespedes, who wanted to stay in New York, signed a three-year, $75 million deal in late January that included the opt-out clause.

Since it's all about the money and how much Lamborghini's this guy can buy, a part of me is tempted to say Hasta la vista to Cespedes. But frankly speaking, we need him...bad. Sandy Alderson and Mets ownership just have go to get this down and sign him to a longterm deal.

RELATED: Sandy Alderson needs to lock up Yoenis Cespedes long-term — even if Mets have to overpay

Mets To Wait Out Yoenis Cespedes?!?

AmazinAvenue.com:

With the timing for his opt-out clause rapidly approaching, the Mets are weighing their options with Yoenis Cespedes. A report from Buster Olney at ESPN seems to suggest that the Mets are choosing to play the long game with Cespedes, which is to say the team would wait for him to opt out and renegotiate with them, as well as any other suitors, this offseason.

"Folks within the Mets' organization fully expect that Cespedes' representation will attempt to parlay that option into more money and explore market alternatives -- and they're willing to wait for his decision, a luxury afforded to them by the strength of the rest of their team and by a market that will be flush with sluggers," says Olney.

The free agent market is strong for power hitters, specifically outfielders, with Cespedes joining the ranks of Mark Trumbo, Edwin Encarnacion, Brandon Moss, Jose Bautista, and others, if he does opt out of his contract. 

Olney mentions that the Mets believe that Cespedes wants to keep playing in New York, but that the team wouldn’t want to offer him a blockbuster deal and would be willing to add in another opt-out clause in a new contract. Olney sites Cespedes’s age and “streaky nature of his production” as reasons for the Mets’ reluctance to sign him to a huge deal. 

While it makes sense that Cespedes would like to stay in New York, it appears that some are writing off the allure of a big-money deal, especially as Cespedes has now, two seasons in a row, put up career-best numbers. The Mets’ strongest bargaining position would likely be to attempt to renegotiate the terms of his contract before the opt-out, which would occur three days after the end of the World Series.

This reeks of stupidity and typical Mets behind-the-scene shenanigans. We've gone to the playoffs two years in a row thanks mostly to this guy and no one had bigger hits this year than him. Plus too we have enough 'streaky' players in Bruce, Granderson and Conforto, Granted, I think Cespedes wants to come back to New York because he loves the limelight here and because he's tired of changing teams. But regardless, why the Met brains would choose to play with fire when it comes to their best everyday player, is beyond me.

Yoenis Cespedes Homers to Back Stellar Noah Syndergaard

Yoenis Cespedes Should Be Batting Cleanup, Not 3rd In Mets Lineup

As a baseball purist, its always been my opinion that your best average hitter should be batting 3rd and best power hitter 4th. It's really not complicated and it certainly worked for the Mets in '86 when Keith Hernandez consistently batted 3rd in the lineup with Gary Carter right behind him. That being said, why Terry Collins wants Yoenis Cespedes as his 3rd place hitter with David Wright Wright batting second is beyond me. Cespedes is a streaky hitter and the Mets best power hitter. Wright, for all his recent injuries, I feel if he stays healthy, can still hit in the .280 to .300 range, get you about 35 doubles and drive in 80 to 90 runs. Wright also strikes out a lot and is not a what used-to-be-typical 2nd-place hitter: a guy puts the ball in play a lot, can lay down a good bunt every now and again and can slash-one-behind-the-runner when you need him too. Considering too that Collins has gone on record stating how much he despises the new era of sabermetricians (which I loved because I hate it too). leaves me wondering why Collins has Wright batting 2nd and Cespedes 3rd instead of say a Michael Conforto or Asdrubal Cabrera batting second behind Curtis Granderson with Wright and then Cespedes behind them. Of course, it's easy to pick on Cespedes now that he's opened the season in a huge slump. but Collins backing up his ealier opines and going with a traditional lineup, to me, would be the best option for the Mets in the long run.

Yoenis Cespedes & Noah Syndergaard Ride Horses to Mets Camp