As expected, Yoenis Cespedes will opt out of his of what is remaining of his three-year $75 milling contract, which is around two-year $47 million, with the New York Mets and that will occur when the World Series concludes. And with that, the of-fseason Cespedes sweepstakes once again begins and the Mets are not out of the picture to his return next season.
Though the Mets have not commented, sources with knowledge of the situation said the first preference for the outfielder is to remain in New York and renegotiate a contract that is workable for the team and Cespedes.
One source also said Cespedes is inclined to listen to the offers though this round of bargaining reportedly will have the Mets as a frontline team once again bidding for his services. Other teams reportedly in the sweepstakes are the crosstown Yankees, the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays.
Terms of what Cespedes would be asking for are reportedly in the four or five year range, and another reliable source said the Mets would unlikely go in that range of four or five years, though a three-year deal was in their range
Of course, this is a similar situation that occurred with the Mets and Cespedes last offseason. Then there were multiple reports of other teams bidding for his services, and all along his preference was to remain in New York with the Mets who ended up re-signing the opt out deal.
Cespedes, hit .280 with 31 home runs this season. Once source added, the Mets were also more concerned about dealing with contracts of outfielder Jay Bruce and infielder Neil Walker before moving into the Cespedes sweepstakes.
Stay tuned here for updates as the Yoenis Cespedes contract situation unfolds.
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