Steve: I might have missed it, but what did you think of the Cespedes deal. If he opts out, it’s $27M for a year of Cespedes plus a first round pick.
Klaw: Not on it. He’s not a $27 million player and he’s not a centerfielder. By the way, that’s “if he opts out and the Mets offer and he signs elsewhere.”

Chris: In regards to the Mets & Cespedes. Isn’t it better to overpay him for 1 year then being stuck with 2-3 dead years on the back end of a 5-6 year contract?
Klaw: Isn’t it better to just not pay him at all? There wasn’t a better use for the money they gave him, Cabrera (who can’t play short at all), and de Aza?

Jon: During the Cespedes press conference, Sandy indicated the Mets will now start looking at getting the young pitchers signed to extensions. Syndergaard would be the obvious place to start for that, no?
Klaw: Of their young arms he’s the one I’d try hardest to sign, and Matz would be the least because of his injury history.

Source: The dish

Lots of other Mets-related stuff in the chat, including thoughts on Dominic Smith pulling the ball, Gavin Cecchini’s defense and the best pitching prospect left in the farm system.

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11 comments on “Keith Law on the Yoenis Cespedes deal

  • Mike Koehler

    Not sure I agree with Law here, and if your memory is better than mine, I was the one writing don’t resign Cespedes three months ago.

    The better option was to sign Heyward, but they didn’t. Once that happened, it was a matter of choosing a FA outfielder to sign. Cabrera and Walker may not be slick-fielding shortstops, but average defense is better than some of what we had been seeing.

    I see no reason why the Mets wouldn’t make him a QO if opts out. Be crazy not to, especially considering the rate for this off-season is way under his AAV.

    • Brian Joura

      Yes, to me Law’s take on signing him was very surprising. I guess you could make a case that 2015 was an extreme outlier that he never comes close to again. But a 3-WAR season is not unreasonable and it would hardly be a disaster of a contract if he did that.

      Anyway, it’s ludicrous to think if he opts out that the Mets wouldn’t give him a QO. I believe they intentionally negotiated the contract in a way so that the Mets would have that right. And it’s equally ridiculous to think Cespedes would turn around and accept said offer. He’d be taking a pay cut that way. I guess there’s a non-zero chance that no other team would sign him but that has to be so small as to not even be worth considering.

      Neither Cabrera nor Walker or positive defensive players. Walker is probably better than Murphy but he’s likely going to be below-average for the position. It’s an open question if Cabrera is better than Flores on either offense or defense. But aesthetically, he’ll look more like a SS than Flores.

  • Pete

    I saw on Cot’s where the Met’s are paying Cespedes 20 million+ for this coming season and 27 for years 2 and 3. Does make it rather more intriguing if Cespedes opts out. Just trying to understand the logic behind the De Aza signing now. Paying over 7 million for a 4th or 5th outfielder with average defense to platoon with Lagares just doesn’t make sense, Weren’t there better options out there?

    • Brian Joura

      Yoenis Cespedes lf
      3 years/$75M (2016-18)

      3 years/$75M (2016-18)
      re-signed by NY Mets as a free agent 1/26/16
      $10M signing bonus
      16:$17.5M, 17:$23.75M, 18:$23.75M
      Cespedes may opt out of contract after 2016 season
      full no-trade protection

      It does not detail how the signing bonus is going to be paid out. My guess is if he opts out, he gets it in one lump sum. Otherwise it will be paid out so that he gets $25 million per year, as that is what has been hinted at elsewhere.

  • TexasGusCC

    Interesting point about Robles from the KLaw chat, which really has many interesting Mets stuff:

    Mickey: Hansel Robles was quietly absolutely dominant down the stretch (2.63 era, .804 whip, 11.2 k/9, 4.64 k/bb over his last 41 innings) – should he be the mets setup man this yr? Future closer? Or are his inconsistencies too much?
    Klaw: Definitely setup material. You don’t buy or trade for relievers – you make them.

    • Brian Joura

      Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by the Mets stuff in the chat. I didn’t think it was fair to cut and paste all of it.

  • David Groveman

    There are a number of people who don’t like the Met moves this offseason. I don’t think you can fault them on Cespedes though.

    Holding Onto Reed – We needed his arm in the bullpen.

    Trading Neise for Walker – A good move for both teams.

    Signing Cabrera – Not needed with Wilmer Flores on the roster and now blocks Gavin Cecchini.

    Signing Colon – Gives the Mets a reliable arm to bridge the gap to Zack Wheeler and to spread innings out for everyone.

    Signing Bastardo – Confusing move considering the Mets have Jerry Blevins, Josh Edgin, Sean Gilmartin (he’ll be a starter) and Josh Smoker. How many lefties do we need?

    Signing Cespedes – Considering the utter lack of right-handed power the Mets had and the limited roles available to add it, this was a coup.

    Did I miss something?

    • TexasGusCC

      De Aza.

    • Brian Joura

      Blevins

  • Buddy3

    Ty Kelly

  • TexasGusCC

    who?

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