Yoenis Cespedes

As the New York Mets suffer another injury in the form of a right oblique strain by Michael Conforto, the question remains: will Yoenis Cespedes, the man who virtually got the team into the 2015 World Series by himself, be ready to play in the start of the season?

For that to happen, Cespedes would have to clear, realistically, another hurdle: playing in spring training games. If he doesn’t do that, then he will hardly be an option for Mets’ manager Luis Rojas as far as being on the opening day roster is concerned.

The outfielder hasn’t played since July 2018 because of multiple heel surgeries and a freak accident in his ranch last year that resulted in a fractured ankle and an amended contract. From earning north of $29 million this year, he is now at $6 million. He could earn more than $20 million in total if he hits milestones and incentives. One of them, which would take his base salary from $6 million to $11 million, is being on the opening day roster.

Now, Cespedes is making strides. He really is. The outfielder has been seen in videos doing agility drills, hitting bombs in batting practice, and doing conditioning work. Just a couple of days ago, he started running to first base at full speed. That itself is a gigantic step forward.

The Mets are closely monitoring his progress

Now, he needs to run through the bases at full speed to be considered as an option to hop on the New York Mets’ team bus and play in spring training games. Will he have enough time to do that?

Mets’ coach Gary DiSarcina said to MLB.com that Cespedes is working his tail off to be ready. He not only has the motivation of playing to enhance his current contract: he will, if he so decides, play for his next contract, as his four year pact, the one he signed in 2016 with the New York Mets, will be up after the season.

General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen said on Tuesday that “we don’t have any timeline for when Yoenis will be ready. We’re focused on his work each day and progressing accordingly.” He has repeated that line, with more or less the same words, since the start of the spring. And what else can he say? Cespedes needs to force his way on the roster, but he may be running out of time.

Once he is, however, he can prove to be a difference-maker. It’s not like he forgot how to hit. But it all depends on his health. Cespedes is, as Mike Lupica of MLB.com puts it, the Mets’ biggest “if.”

As the New York Mets saw one of their starting outfielders go down after receiving the Michael Conforto news, they are, at least, receiving encouraging reports on other injured stars on the roster.

J.D. Davis is already back in the lineup after missing over a week of action with a jammed left shoulder. He had a good few days of successful, pain-free batting practice and is back to being an option for manager Luis Rojas in games.

Another positive development is that Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes, who is currently recovering from multiple heel injuries and an ankle fracture, has already begun running at full speed to first base.

It is a huge step forward in his recovery, but not the last one. Cespedes’ presence in the opening day roster – which would increase his guaranteed salary from $6 million to $11 million – still depends on the outfielder clearing a few more hurdles.

For example, he needs to make turns on the bases at full speed, which would be the ultimate test in his long way back. After all, he hasn’t played an official game since July 2018, when he had heel surgery. Prior to last season, he suffered his infamous ranch accident with a wild boar that resulted in a fractured ankle and a lost year.

The Mets are slowly, but surely working his way back

For now, Cespedes is slowly, but surely working his way back. He has been hitting regularly, including in a simulated game against Marcus Stroman as recently as Monday.

It’s still in the cards that he makes the opening day roster, especially after the Michael Conforto health-related setback. It is not a given, however, as the New York Mets do have some options in Brandon Nimmo, Jake Marisnick, Davis and Dominic

Smith. They can even have Jeff McNeil playing left field if they wanted to.
Cespedes is a career .274/.328/.498 hitter with a .351 wOBA and a 124 wRC+. He has 163 home runs, 472 runs scored and 524 RBI in 3456 plate appearances.

The road taken to this point by Yoenis Cespedes can surely help his younger half-brother Yoelkis as he tries to make his way to the big leagues. The New York Mets‘ slugger defected in 2011 and had to go through a lot to be where he currently is. Among the sacrifices he had to make was not talk to his family for years.

“It was really difficult,” Yoenis Céspedes said to MLB.com. “It wasn’t just not being able to talk to him (Yoelkis,) but I wasn’t able to talk to my father, and also another sister that I have, and also other family members that I still had in Cuba.”

When Yoenis defected, Yoelkis was 13 years old. They were raised in different environments but grew close with each passing year.

However, the communication was extremely difficult once Yoenis established residency outside of Cuba. He wasn’t allowed to return and spent eight years without seeing his little brother, not to mention five years without talking to him.

Yoelkis then joined the Cuban national team and that’s when he received his first cell phone and was able to call his big brother.

Just last year, Yoenis was cleared to return to his homeland, and that’s when he reunited with Yoelkis.

Now, Yoelkis defected while participating in the Can-Am League in New York last June, and then traveled to the Bahamas. There, he worked out with his brother while waiting for MLB to declare him a free agent.

That is expected to happen on March 18. Yoelkis, who is 22 years old, will have showcases for all 30 teams in Arizona and Florida. Of course, his brother will be there to support him.

The Mets’ slugger is “excited” for his brother

“I think I’m even more excited for him than I was when I first signed,” said Yoenis, who put pen to paper on a four-year, $36 million contract with the Oakland A’s when he was 26. “I think at the age he is right now, and the resources, the conditions that he has to be able to play — I think they’re much better than what I had when I first signed. So I’m really excited.”

In the offseason, Yoenis Cespedes was somewhat limited by injuries. In fact, he hasn’t played with the New York Mets since July 2018. But time passed and he was able to join Yoelkis in the Bahamas and do some workouts. He taught him, among other things, how to be more of a home run threat.

“When he first got here, he was a four-tool player,” the New York Mets’ star said. “He could hit for average, he could do it all, but he just didn’t have the power at that point. But once he started working with me — I’ve been working with him since October — he [developed] the power. So for me, he’s a five-tool player.”

According to Yoenis, Yoelkis is “a good kid, really calm, doesn’t go out to parties, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke.” When they are together, Yoenis said to Anthony DiComo, Yoelkis likes to “help with farm work and play dominoes.”

“We’ve had a lot of conversations about not just about baseball, but also about life,” Céspedes said. “The lifestyle that we come from [in] Cuba, it’s a different lifestyle completely. But we have spoken a lot about it, and up until now, it’s been good.”

After a rocky week with the press, New York Mets‘ slugger finally spoke. Days after saying that he wouldn’t speak to the media covering the Mets in Port St. Lucie, the Cuban slugger decided to talk.

Early Sunday morning, Cespedes broke his silence and said that his intention is to be ready for Opening Day and help the Mets in their quest for the playoffs.

“If I continue progressing the way that I am, yes,” Céspedes said through an interpreter, quoted by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

After the 2019 wild boar accident in his ranch that resulted in a fractured ankle, the New York Mets amended his deal. He was set to make $29 million in the final year of his contract, but after the incident, it was reduced to $6 million guaranteed.

The number will go up to $11 million if he makes the Opening Day roster. If he meets incentives, bonuses, awards and other things, he will get close to $25 million.

The Mets’ slugger is happy with his progress

Earlier in the week, Cespedes said he wouldn’t talk with the media at that time “or at any point in the year.” The boycott ended today, as he said he feels “good” and “happy with the progress.”

“Every day, I’m still working to get better and better,” Céspedes said. “It’s not as fast as I want it to be, but as the season approaches, I’m feeling like I’m really good right now.”

But as the media questioned him about the ranch incident, he wouldn’t offer many details. “I committed an error and I paid the price for it,” Cespedes said, “but today I’ll be talking about the present and the future.”

Cespedes, 34, hasn’t played since July 2018 and is recovering from multiple heel and ankle surgeries. The Mets are a little crowded in the outfield but if he is healthy, he will have a role.

Yoenis Cespedes refused to talk to the journalists and sportswriters covering the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. On Monday, Mike Puma of the New York Post, Tim Healey of Newsday and other outlets reported that they approached the Cuban outfielder to see if he had a few minutes to talk to the press.

Cespedes’ response to the approach: “Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year.” According to Healey, he might want to talk to his fans.

When asked by the media about the reasons behind the unwillingness to talk, the player only answered: “Because I don’t want to.”

Cespedes has had quite the interesting last couple of years. He hasn’t played with the Mets since July 2018. He needed multiple heel surgeries, and last season, he was involved in a bizarre accident with a wild boar in his ranch that resulted in a fractured ankle. The outfielder missed the entire 2019 season, as well.

The Mets reduced his salary

He was slated to earn $29 million in 2020, but the New York Mets managed to amend the contract. Citing the injury in his ranch, the team will now pay Cespedes $6 million as a base salary. The number would go up to $11 million if he makes the opening day roster, and through bonuses, awards and incentives, it can reach north of $20 million.

Cespedes has uploaded a couple of videos of himself training in the offseason. He has been seen running, taking batting practice and doing agility and other drills. He is eager to show the world he is ready.

In fact, the plan was for Cespedes to be with the group as they performed their first full-squad workout on Monday.
Cespedes’ powerful bat can be a boost to the New York Mets’ lineup. He is capable of busting 30 homers and drive in close to 100 runs if healthy.

In his best season with the Mets, back in 2016, he was an All-Star and hit .280 with 31 home runs and 86 RBIs.

It is unclear if the Mets will fine him at some point if he continues to refuse to talk with the media. It is a possibility, though.