The long Nationals nightmare is over as Yoenis Cespedes spurned a longer offer from Washington to sign a three-year deal with the Mets worth $75 million. The deal features a no-trade clause and an opt out after the first year. It seems like a win-win. For Cespedes, if he repeats his 2015 campaign, he can once again be a free agent, where he’ll be much more likely to get the deal he sought this time around. And for the Mets, they’re not stuck paying the last few years of a bad contract.
Obviously, fans will be thrilled with the news. But it also is a victory of sorts for Sandy Alderson. For years, the Mets’ GM stated that once the club saw a boost in attendance that there would be a corresponding bump in payroll. This signing should put the team’s payroll in the $140 million range, a level few thought we would see again as long as the Wilpons held the purse strings.
The length of the deal should also not go unnoticed. Of course it keeps the total contract value from exceeding the random $100 million level that Alderson said he would not surpass for a free agent. But if Cespedes stays for the entire three years, it will also end at the same time that Matt Harvey will be eligible for free agency. It’s hard to imagine that’s just a coincidence.
For the 2016 season, it should make the Mets the favorites to win the NL East. It gives the team the RH power bat they need and moves both Juan Lagares and Alejandro De Aza to bench player status. While it’s possible they may still look to sign a righty-hitting corner infielder, this likely ends the team’s offseason moves. The big Spring Training question will be who ends up filling the last few spots in the bullpen.
It will be curious to see how De Aza handles the signing. He goes from thinking he’s set for 350 or so PA to wondering if he’ll even get 200. There may not have been a huge free agent market for De Aza this year but it’s likely that he expected to get much more playing time than it now appears he’ll receive. With a solid year in 2016 where he showed the ability to play center, De Aza was in a position to get a lucrative multi-year contract once his one-year deal with the Mets was up. Now, he’ll be lucky to get the same contract he got this time.
Undoubtedly, most Mets fans won’t care about that. It’s not like they were excited for the De Aza era in Queens, anyway. Still, it’s not fun to see things fall apart for a guy, when the planets align against him.
Meanwhile, Lagares goes from thinking he’s got a shot to win back the CF job to being a defensive caddy for Cespedes and hoping for an occasional start against a lefty to give one of the corner outfielders a day off. It’s not what he was expecting when he signed the extension prior to last season, either. Lagares has more fans in his corner than De Aza but ultimately the reaction from the paying customers is going to be the same.
Clearly, the fans wanted Cespedes back. Recently, David Wright stepped up and vouched for Cespedes as a teammate, so it’s safe to say the players wanted him back, too. Ownership got him on their terms. With the possible exception of De Aza and Lagares, everyone is happy to have Cespedes back in the fold. It’s a fun day to be a Mets fan and we can relish the fact that Spring Training is just around the corner.
Wow. What incredibly good news to wake up to on a Saturday morning. Great job by Sandy and credit where it’s due to Mets’ ownership who finally have gone all-in in trying to make the 2016 Mets a World Series contender.
While things looked promising on Friday one had to wonder whether the Yankees or someone might swoop in and take Yo away from both the Mets and the Nationals.
I’d be interested in knowing whether the Mets would receive a supplemental 1st round pick should the player opt out after the 2016 season.
While your fine article, Brian, says that Lagares now becomes Cespedes’ caddy he likely becomes Conforto’s. I imagine that late in games Lagares will come into the game in center with Cespedes sliding over to left. This would strengthen two outfield positions simultaneously while keeping Cespedes’ bat in the lineup.
I don’t think the Mets are allowed to trade DeAza just yet since he’s a newly signed free agent but some time during the season they can. It would not surprise me if they do move him for a prospect. For the job of fourth or fifth outfielder the team might well get by with Ceciliani or even Brandon Nimmo. But that’s a concern for down the road.
Yay!!!!!!
Best day for us Met fans. Finally I can start believing that the Wilpons realizes that to make money they have to invest in their team. It’s short term. But I’ll take it. Doesn’t tie up payroll and gives the team their best chances of returning to the WS Kudos to Alderson and the FO.
This is super. For one thing, they have Lagares set for 2017 if Cespedes does walk. For another, ownership and management suppress the fan spending comments.
Do they need to make a roster move now to open a spot up? Do they still pursue more bullpen help (ie, Clippard)? Do they look to make an OF trade during Spring training?
On a personal level, Alderson continues to show me how good a GM he really is.
They had to make a move for Bastardo (C. Torres) so they’ll have to make one for Cespedes. Likely Eric Campbell or Darrell Ceciliani. I would have put Muno in the list, too, but heard that he’s been invited to Spring Training.
Brian,
You did a really nice job putting the signing in perspective. My one quibble (I’m sorry, it’s my nature) is “The big Spring Training question….”. To me it’s the health and ability of David Wright to field and hit on a regular basis.
I don’t think they’re going to find out anything about Wright in ST. He won’t be asked to play 9 innings day after day after day there.
I’d have chimed in sooner but i was up late tweeting and texting about this. I could not have scripted this offseason any better. And in typical Mets fashion, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. One day I’m a ranting lunatic calling for the Wilpons’ heads and the next I’m praising Sandy as a genius.
I kept thinking a team like the White Sox were gonna swoop in with 6 year deal. The thought of Cespy going to the Nats was too much for fans to handle. Based on Twitter, fans were threatening to stay away and these were not shouts out the window, there were hundreds of heartfelt pleas and angry demands sent directly to ownership and management. It might have pushed ownership. Several prominent writers have suggested the same. Social media has power and Met fans are a fierce lot.
How great is it thay we wind up with Cespy for max 3 instead of Zobrist for guaranteed 4? And how great is it that the Gnats wind up with egg on their face and suddenly everyone wants to be a Met. I know Cespy has his flaws and streaks and not every season has been great, but he gives us a presence in the middle of the lineup that provides balance and makes those around him better.
Lastly, and I could really go on and on, the outfield will be fine. Lagares will get plenty of playing time. Against lefties the older Grandy and the still developing Conforto will get some days off with Lagares in center and Cespy shifting to the corners. As I’ve long pointed out, smart teams have four starting outfielders. Between days off, injuries, splits, DH, pinch hits, there are enough ABs to go around. If all four stay healthy, deAza won’t see much playing time. He’s in the same boat as Tejada now – injury insurance. If the team stays healthy we’ll have to trade one or both of these guys – nice problem to have. Ditto the crowded bullpen. And how ’bout that $140 million payroll?! LGM!!!!
Nice, Matty.
I actually think Tejada may see more playing time then you think. I believe given walker’s struggles against lefties Flores will join him in a platon and Ruben may become Wright’s caddy getting a game every 3rd or 4th day. what I mean by that is on the days david sites Cabrera could move to 3rd and Tejada would start at SS.
As for De Aza he is your only lefty on the bench so i expect he’ll see a lot of Pinch hit and double switching opportunities plus he will be our best option as a pinch runner. Further if any of our starting outfielders need a day against a right handed pitcher De Aza will get that. He also may get swings as our Left handed DH or start allowing Conforto or grandy to get a half day by DH’ing against a righty. I expect Ces to DH against Lefties allowing Juan to start.
All of this is my way of saying plenty of playing time to go around for a much deeper bench this year
Personally, I’m giving Granderson and Conforto days off against LHP, not RHP.
Anytime Tejada’s name is in the lineup under normal circumstances – meaning that there is another bat available (rested and healthy) – the Mets are handicapped. Other than walking, he has Zero, No, Zilch, Nada value.
I don’t think Tejada is that bad, this strikes me as unfair. But I don’t see his value to this club.
Except hes a superior baseball player to Flores in almost every way.
Chris, I would love to hear how.
Every defensive aspect of the game; first reflex, foot speed, glove, arm strength, accuracy. That’s critical in a defense premium position. Flores showed us he’s not a SS, and is already on track to be the 1B backup. The middle infield experiment appears to be mercifully over.
He would have been the SS through the WS. Flores has more power, but that’s about it Gus.
Chris, I could give you my point of view, but you wouldn’t like it. We have watched Tejada for five years, so I believe we have enough of a sample size to make a determination. However, since you want to talk only defense, let me give you Fangraphs’ defensive metrics:
UZR 2015: Tejada -11.5 Flores -3.3
UZR 2014: Tejada 3.9. Flores 12.5
DRS 2015: Tejada -15 in 618 innings. Flores -10 in 836 innings
Fielding probability 2015
Routine (90-100%) Tejada 97% Flores 95%
Likely (60-90%) Tejada 50% Flores 79%
Even (40-60%) Tejada 29% Flores 57%
And now for the obvious:
While we all know Flores is slow and we know all his warts, the truth is he is a Second Baseman! So since our best two middle options were Murphy and Flores, how would you have aligned them? Murphy at SS? And while we all remember Flores terrible start at SS in 2015, he was much better the last two months, just look at the numbers above. They speak for themselves.
You think the Brewers would have taken Tejada and Wheeler for Gomez? LOL, doubtful, huh?
And lastly, dWAR 2015:
Flores 21st in MLB (yes there was much worse who I bet didn’t hit more bombs): 1.8
Tejada 29th in MLB: -2.5
We rest our case. Tejada sucks!
Editor’s Note – Please do not capitalize words in your post, as that is a violation of our Comment Policy.
“so I believe we have enough of a sample size to make a determination. ”
Hmmm. Tejada has a 4.2 UZR in his first 3000 innings and a -5.6 UZR in his last 618 innings and you only choose to show the latter in your argument..
So by that logic Lagares is only an average fielder too.. Only 3.5 UZR in his last 1000 innings.
“You think the Brewers would have taken Tejada and Wheeler for Gomez? ”
And some people would have given up a bundle for Jean Segura last winter, who has ranked among the worst in the game the last 2 years… Just because someone wouldn’t do something doesn’t mean they are right. Besides the main reason that they wouldn’t Tejada is because he’s already in the arbitration phase while Flores has 2 more years at the min and not for performance
Name, I wasn’t looking to do a full blown analysis, just looked at the one year or so that they both played. While I will be the first to admit that Flores has faults, he has only played one full year. Besides, he had a nice last two months defensively, which gets overlooked. We see every game and know that our starting pitchers are better hitters than him. It a shame this kid seems to have gotten progressively worse the lnger he has been in the majors. No workout regimine, no agility stuff; just one year at boot camp with Mike Barwis and that was two winters ago. Besides, we all know Collins puts Tejada in the lineup against #4 and #5 pitchers while Flores plays against the #1 and #2 pitchers. Can you imagine their stats if it were the other way around?
Gus, please, I beg you. You cannt spout that stuff and meake anyone believe Flores was a better SS that Tejada. I’ll cmpletly agree hes a 2B, and better than Tejada would be there, but at SS? No chance in a million.
I believe we can truly say that the team going to ST is stronger than the one that dropped the series to the team of destiny Royals. The pen is stronger. Our DP combo will save runs and with both being switch hitters we will be stronger at the plate. Murphy is a bat and presence that will be missed but bringing Cespedes back removes that loss. And while Cespedes will need to improve in center his speed and arm will buy him time to learn. Lagares will get plenty of ABs and his improvement at the plate will bode well for his future. Lastly the bench is younger and more versatile. Now think of Sandy plucking another bat at the trade deadline and we could make it an ’86 kind of runaway from the pack season. Let’s go Mets.
With living in South Carolina, it’s now time to sign up for MLB.COM. Even spring training will be a joy…………..
There’s joy in this corner of the Low Country.
Thrilled, surprised, and very impressed.
Great job — astonishing, really — by Sandy Alderson.
It took a perfect storm, but the end result is the best imaginable for the Mets.
Two notes:
1) Lagares as 4th outfielder should be busy and get plenty of opportunities to play.
2) De Aza has to go, and Sandy should try to privately accommodate his short list of teams. He can’t hit LHP, so really has no role on this team. The Mets should look to unload that $5 million contract. This might take a little time, but seems doable.
BTW, nice opening sentence, Brian.
Thanks!
I’d be surprised if Lagares topped 300 PA but with injuries I guess you never know.
That’s a reasonable number.
Interesting to see the Mets with both Flores and Lagares in “super-sub” roles. Very comfortable with both.
And in each case, they should get enough opportunity to build an argument for increased playing time, this season and in the future.
James I believe the Met’s have to wait a certain length of time before De Aza can be traded.
Thursday night I’m ranting about how camp Cespy is using the Mets to make the Nationals dig a little deeper into their pockets, Friday night I see a notification pop up on my phone and I could just faint.
I don’t remember ever seeing a player turn down that much more guaranteed money and while Cespades can become a free agent again in a year and if he plays all three he will just need 2 years at $12.5MM per year to make up the difference, I still can’t believe it.
I think I will have to remember tonight next time Cespades walks back to the dugout after strike three goes to the backstop or he swings for Long Island when the Mets are down three in the ninth and he’s leading off.
The Mets are now ready to defend their title. They are a better team today then when they lost game #5. Apparently they had the money to spend. I am looking forward to another exciting season.
It’s Cepdes for the Mets-of-us!
Absolute heroic signing by Alderson. We all need to tip our caps to the Wilpon’s and Katz for stepping up as they said they would when the time was right. With a payroll of 140M$ or so, the Mets look like an important team, with a desire to win.
The Cespedes signing is huge in establishing the Mets as a genuine destination for free agents. The good karma clearly has to begin apwith ownership to the FO and clearly to the dugout. We cannot forget us as fans (though SA is far too indifferent to make mega financial decisions based on social media) that make playing for this team awesome.
Lastly. Brian, I think I disagree with your opening statement: the long Nationals nightmare has just begun!
Well I’ll be damned. Alderson actually did get Cespedes to sign on his terms. It obviously helps that Cespedes seems to have *really* wanted to return to the team and has an incentive to opt out and be the top dog FA next year, but boy oh boy what a signing. It’s a strange feeling to have players that actually want to play for this franchise. A strange, fantastic feeling. LGM!
BTW, since we are handing out the accolades to Alderson and the Wilpons, let’s remember that Terry Collins as manager has helped create a team atmosphere that is positive and welcoming in tone. Cespedes liked it in NY, and clearly Collins is part of the reason.
Agreed.
In fact I wrote a similar thought elsewhere. In addition to Collins I would include the Mets players who created the positive workplace experience, so much that Cespedes left money on the table to sign with the Mets.
It seems like everyone thinks that it’s a foregone conclusion that Cespedes is playing CF full time. But is it?
If De Aza is in the lineup, i’d think it would make more sense to play De Aza in CF and Cespedes in left.
If Lagares is in the lineup, Lagares would be the CF.
Only if Conforto is in the lineup would Cespedes play CF.
As Brian frequently notes… if the Mets go out of their way to not play the youngster, it seems to me that the one to go would be … Conforto getting sent down the minors, at least for the start of the season. Plus, he’s the one not making multi-millions at the moment. It also makes more sense to have Cespedes play LF full time and then just split CF with De Aza/Lagares rather than some crazy rotation with 4 guys for 2 spots. And would people feel so fuzzy if it turns out if that was case?
Also, after last year’s blundering in CF during the World Series, will Cespedes want to risk being exposed there for a full season and brandishing his excellent defensive reputation?
Let’s all tip our caps to Ben Zobrist. Had he accepted our offer, we wouldn’t have Cespedes, Walker or Colon and instead we’d have him and Niese.
The Mets never actually made an offer to Zobrist. They showed him the sights, treated him to Pizza Hut, and discussed terms and years. They never made a concrete offer. The Nationals did, the Giants did, the Dodgers did, and I believe the Angels did.
Maybe the Wilpons are seeing the team as a money making business unit again and not just the diamond in the middle of the Flushing Meadow Iron Triangle property. Think of the shirt sales……
David in New Zealand loves the recent moves, by my home team, the NY Mets.
2016 World Series Champions.
Editor’s Note – Please do not capitalize words in your post, as that is a violation of our Comment Policy.
Question: Is an apology owed?
We bashed and harangued the management of the team for not spending the big money and it finally comes to pass that they make the big move. Do we owe the Wilpons an apology? I hesitate to do so. They are still pretty awful owners and I’d prefer them gone but I’m not funding any billboards in 2016. Do we owe an apology to Sandy Alderson? Maybe. He got the Mets that middle of the order right-handed bat and didn’t hurt them Mets chances of retaining their pitchers in the future. Do we owe an apology to Alejandro De Aza or Juan Lagares? Probably.
No, I don’t owe anyone an apology.
The idea is to try to be balanced. Be willing to criticize, be willing to give praise.
As for the Wilpons, they are gross, but they finally made a good business decision.
Question: If the White Sox made that offer to Cespedes, would the Mets have made a counter-offer? My feeling is no. In a way, it could be argued that the Nationals pushed the Mets into signing Cespedes. A perfect storm.
For the first time in a long while, the Mets are looking to be the best. I’m thrilled.