Almost 48 hours after the trade that would bring Carlos Gomez to Citi Field fell apart, the Mets get that big bat they wanted anyway. Just about when time ran out on trades for the 2015 season, the New York Mets traded away two minor league right-handed pitchers to the Tigers in return for Yoenis Cespedes and his $3.7 million remaining on his contract. The former two-time HR Derby champ will fit nicely in left field for the NY Mets, as they attempt to chase down the Nats for the NL East title.
With the young Cuban now in left field, the Mets have one of the most underrated outfields in all of baseball. Yoenis is having a career year batting .298 in a league leading 102 games, with 18 homers, 61 RBIs, and 28 doubles. Sure his powerful bat is a significant help to the Mets poor offense, but his glove and arm is what makes this Met outfield great.
Next to Cespedes in center field is a gold glover in Juan Lagares, and then in right is Curtis Granderson who has also played in 102 games this season (Curtis has 16 bombs this year along with 20 doubles). Grandy-man has saved 3 runs better than average this year in right field, while holding more runners than average with a solid arm. The three of them in centerfield will be quite a threat together, as they all have great gloves and bats.
Yoenis will fit nicely into the middle of the lineup to light a fire under the struggling Met offense. The only question, however, is, can they re-sign the star Cuban at the end of the season? After being bounced around between 4 teams in the last 2 seasons, the youngster will most likely be looking for 4 years or more on a contract. The Mets should no doubt be able to offer him the contract he will be asking for, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Yoenis will pick the Mets. Despite how the Mets finish this year, they should be a strong candidate to sign the upcoming free agent. As with great young pitching and improvement in the offense of recent, the franchise in queens will be competing for championships for years to come.
