2015 TOPPS CHROME UPDATE YOENIS CESPEDES
Last week’s meditation on Mike Piazza‘s brief time in Miami was sparked when I pulled this pulsating piece of chrome out of a box from the local Target.
Yoenis Cespedes‘ lifespan with the Mets will probably amount to 57 regular-season games and the length and breadth of the 2015 postseason. Longer and more meaningful than Piazza’s stint with the Marlins sure, but still just a relative blink of an eye…
However, opinions are divided over whether the team is taking the right approach in declining to spend the nine figures it would likely cost to retain Cespedes.
Those who would prefer to let him walk can certainly point to his essential disappearance in the playoffs and World Series, a performance that sometimes seemed to border on flat indifference. He exhausted the collective patience of the fanbase by attempting to launch three-run homers with no one on base, and with an approach to defense that was more tailored to the pitch than to the outfield.
Of course, his proponents would argue that Cespedes carried the Mets into the playoffs, that without a month and a half of his Wonderboy bat and howitzer right arm, the team would not have been playing late October/early November baseball. The true believers scan his given name and see an “is NY” word jumble; they mumble gnomic riddles about parakeets and neon compression sleeves; they believe that he is fated to do more for the team.
I am in sympathy with both camps here, and would not really curse either prospective outcome. For now I’m just happy to have this shiny Topps card as a memento of the magic and potencia of the 2015 Mets season…
I like seeing Cespedes on a card as a Met but I’m not wild about this particular one.
Which seems fitting, as I’m not wild about paying $120 million or more to keep him.
I would sign Cespedes if I were Alderson, if he takes a five year deal at less than $100MM deal that is backloaded (if, if, if, crossed fingers if). Some selling points are being told he would play CF for at least 50% of the games if his fielding is considered league average, by getting NY endorsements, by getting the attention that he absolutely craves in the New York market.
Should he accept:
He could be traded for a mint in two years getting the talent back you lost in Fullmer.
He could be used until Nimmo can be the next Granny, Conforto can become a star, and Herrera and Flores develop.
He keeps your team’s lineup strong in 2016 while you don’t lose a #1 pick.
Cespedes buys the Mets time but for some reason I can’t embrace him: Could be that our last impression was a negative one, could be that we are too demanding of all our players as a whole, but he could be what Strawberry was in the mid 80’s.
I understand your feelings re: Cespedes. But, if you might be looking to trade him in a few years wouldn’t a back loaded contract make it more difficulty? In general I don’t like the idea of paying more as a player’s skills erode with age.
I say backloaded because it seems how teams sign players that they may want to trade, i.e. James Shields, Giancarlo Stanton (although he is quite young anyway), and Jose Reyes are three examples that come to mind.
Seems that the salary isn’t as big a deal if the player is performing. Worse comes to worse, you pick up a few bucks and get a better return. That could even be a selling point.