Well, that was certainly abrupt:
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And just like that, the biggest bat on the market will be off the market.
Given the Collective Bargaining-induced holdup in the top end of the free agent market, we never really got a great sense of where else Yoenis Cespedes might wind up, even as the Mets were always believed to be a strong possibility for a re-up.
Miscellaneous implications leaping into my mind as I type, because I haven’t yet had a ton of time to process this move:
I wonder if this signing means we’re about to see a breakthrough revealed in the CBA talks. One doesn’t necessarily follow the other, but it’s definitely possible that the Mets and Cespedes’ camp have been in negotiations all along, pending confirmation that whatever CBA changes are installed would not blow up the deal they were putting together. Perhaps they got that confirmation behind the scenes, and decided to move forward?
By opting out of his previous deal with the Mets, Cespedes tacked on two more years and $60 million, plus got the no-trade rights. So, well done, Mr. Cespedes. He can now afford to arrive at Spring Training in more excellent cars, and on horseback.
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With Cespedes back in the fold, the Mets would presumably no longer be an option for Dexter Fowler, for what that’s worth.
Cespedes’ bat is of significant import to the Mets, by the way, and helps keep them right there in a nice, competitive spot in the NL East and Wild Card race for 2017. With some returned health in their rotation, the Mets figure to challenge the Nationals again this season.
The Mets do not pick up a draft pick for Cespedes going elsewhere, nor does another team lose one. The net to the Cubs there is that their presumed compensatory pick (Fowler) does not move in the draft, but their first round pick (end of the first round) will now not move up one spot. *sarcastically sad trombone sound*
Overall, the contract looks to be about what was expected for Cespedes, 31, and probably does not shift the market much.
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