On July 31st, right before this year's trade deadline, the New York Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers for prospects Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. Although it's disappointing to lose a nice prospect such as Fulmer, the Cespedes trade has proven to be a great deal for the Mets as he has helped them immensely in the month of August and into September. But, the question Sandy Alderson should be asking himself right now is "Does Cespedes have a future with the New York Mets?".
Through September 14th, Cespedes has hit .309 with a .356 OBP, with a remarkable 17 Home Runs and 42 RBIs, leading the Mets to a 30-11 record and a 9.5 game lead in the East Division since his acquisition. As one of the truest 5-tool players in the majors, signing Yoenis long-term could be a great decision for the club. One problem with that would be that the Mets do not have a lot of money to go around, and since Cespedes will obviously require an expensive contract, would the Mets still have the money to extend Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom in the near future?
Harvey is eligible for free agency after the 2018 season with Jacob deGrom eligible the year after. As these two pitchers are the two cornerstones of the rotation, and perhaps the team as a whole, extending them before they reach free agency is a must. With the Mets current monetary situation, it may not be possible to have 4 extremely large contracts (David Wright) on the payroll at the same time. I think Harvey and deGrom are more important pieces to the club than Cespedes, and signing him now without thinking about the future might be foolish.
Also, we must consider the fact that we have many different options in the outfield. Michael Conforto is quickly proving himself to be an exciting new player with tons of potential. He has a very good chance of taking the starting LF spot for Opening Day 2016, and with Brandon Nimmo nearly ready to make his major league debut, that will be two young outfielders who are going to be fighting for outfield time.
We also have veterans Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer on the roster for next season. This will be Cuddy's last season under contract for the Mets while Grandy has two more. Granderson pretty much has RF locked up for now (although he profiles much better as a LF) with Cuddy also needing playing time.
Then there's Juan Lagares. After two promising seasons to start his career, Juan has taken a big step back this season. Injuries have plagued him all season, most notably his elbow injury which originally started in September of 2014. If he can make a full recovery this off-season and get back to top form for 2016, then he should be able to regain his starting CF position.
So, with all these different options in the outfield, is it smart to extend Cespedes and keep him in the mix? While it would be nice to really give all our young players a shot, it is a extremely nice to have the powerful bat of Cespedes in the lineup; having him for an entire season could be what we need.
This upcoming off-season, Sandy needs to seriously consider all the consequences and benefits of re-signing Cespedes. If he's able to plan ahead and make sure there is room for our two star pitchers on the payroll, then a Cespedes extension might be the best move as it should ensure us as contenders for several years to come; however, he shouldn't just re-sign him in order to keep a power bat in the mix, as the loss of Harvey and/or deGrom would be much more damaging to the team (even if this loss is a few years away) than losing Cespedes. He also needs to consider if it's smart to keep Cespedes in the crowded outfield. A lot will happen between now and free agent season, but it will come quickly, and Sandy needs to be ready to make a tough decision regarding Yoenis Cespedes which could shape the organization's future for good or for bad.
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