When the New York Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers before the MLB's non-waiver trade deadline, there was an issue with his contract that may have prevented him from re-signing with the team.
Cespedes previously expressed interest in remaining a Met, but a clause in his contract would have forced the two sides to agree to a new deal within just five days after the World Series, which spurred various rumors regarding his status after 2015. The 29-year-old signed a four-year $36 million deal with the Oakland Athletics back when he defected from Cuba.
On Tuesday, Cespedes agreed to change this clause in his deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the latest:
"Seeing the potential mutual benefit, the Mets and Cespedes' representatives changed the clause in his contract that would have given the Mets only five days after the World Series ended to sign him long term ...
"Thus, rather than be under a short-term constraint to decide whether to sign Cespedes as a free agent, the Mets can let the process play out and be like any of the other 29 clubs that can negotiate and sign him at any point this offseason.
"The sides agreed to the alteration in the past 10 days."
We wrote earlier in the season as to why his contract had this particular clause in it:
"Cespedes has accrued only four years of MLB service time and players are required to accrue six years to qualify for free agency, so his contract was negotiated differently. His previous professional experience in Cuba was a crucial aspect of those negotiations and, as a result, he will not be subjected to the qualifying offer. Also, if he doesn't sign a new deal with the Mets within five days after the World Series then that clause in his contract forces the Mets to release him, meaning they will lose out on keeping him because any club that releases a player after August 31 cannot re-sign that player until May 15."
The fact that the Mets and Cespedes agreed to make this change in his contract shows there's mutual interest in a long-term pact. Since coming to New York, Cespedes is batting .311/.358/.669 with 31 runs scored, 13 home runs and 31 RBIs in 34 games, during which the Mets are 23-11.
Before the Tigers traded Cespedes there were rumors floating around suggesting that the slugger would re-sign with Detroit even if the team dealt him before the deadline. However, the Tigers are now under new management after firing Dave Dombrowski, and this move to change the clause in his contract may suggest that's no longer the case.
But will the Mets give Cespedes the $100-plus million contract he's expected to command?
After today, it seems as if they're at least open to the idea.
