Kallet: Incredibly, Mets' Cespedes May End Up Being Better Than Last Year
By Brad Kallet
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Mets general manager Sandy Alderson completely transformed his team -- and the entire organization -- when he acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers for minor league pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa on July 31, 2015.
You know how the story goes. The 30-year-old slugger helped transform the Mets' lineup from anemic to absolutely deadly. In his first 57 regular season games with his new team, Cespedes tore the cover off the ball, hitting .287 with 17 home runs, 44 RBIs and 14 doubles. He helped the Mets overtake the Nationals and earn their first division title since 2006, and reach their first World Series since 2000.
Fans instantly fell in love with the imposing, ferocious-swinging, and charismatic Cuban. In just three months with the Mets, the neon-sleeved outfielder with a rocket for an arm became a folk hero in Flushing.
But every Mets fan, as much as they didn't want to admit it, knew deep down inside that it was all just a cruel tease. It was wonderful -- even spectacular -- while it lasted, but the Mets weren't going to pay what Cespedes was requesting, and he would inevitably move on to his fifth team in five years.
But then an interesting thing happened. The offseason moved along, free agent dominoes began to fall and nobody was really talking about Cespedes -- except to say that he remained, shockingly, on the open market. Team after team either acquired another player instead, or sat back and decided not to throw their hat in the ring. Before we knew it the new year was upon us, and Cespedes was still without a club.
Was there a chance, however small, that the seemingly impossible could happen? Nah, let's not even entertain the possibility, fans thought. After all, we had been hearing for months that the prospects of Cespedes returning to New York were slim to none. There were too many factors working against a continuation of the perfect marriage. It was essentially an impossibility.
By mid-January, however, hope turned into speculation, which later turned into full-fledged optimism. Then on Jan. 26, it all came to fruition. Cespedes signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the Mets with an opt-out after the first season. Just like that, a devastatingly disappointing offseason became one of great promise.
Heading into 2016, no one expected Cespedes to hit like he did in 2015. No player outside of Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth or Ted Williams could keep that pace up, right? But at the very least the former All-Star would make the Mets' lineup significantly deeper and more dangerous. Even two-thirds of Cespedes' production from the year prior would make the massive contract worthwhile.
This season began with great expectations, but got off to a rough start. The Mets stumbled out off the gate, losing five of their first seven games, and Cespedes looked rusty at the dish. He even heard some boo birds at Citi Field during the first homestand, as hard as that is to believe.
But then he got going, and the Mets followed suit. The Amazins' have an excellent lineup from top to bottom, but as important as Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, David Wright and Lucas Duda are for what they uniquely contribute to the cause, this offense goes as its cleanup hitter goes.
If Cespedes is launching homers off the faces of walls, drilling doubles into the gap and taking his walks, this team is going to score -- and most likely win.
Since the 2-5 start, the Mets have rattled off wins in 19 of their last 26 to propel themselves into first place in the NL East. Cespedes has destroyed baseballs at an incredible clip along the way.
Baseball people have known since Cespedes debuted in the majors in 2011 that the Gold Glover is an all-world talent. But is he really one of the premier power hitters in the game, as he showed in the fall of 2015? Many had their doubts, hence why the flamboyant superstar wasn't flooded with long-term, big-money deals during the winter. It appeared to more than a few front office personnel that Cespedes' unfathomably productive display in New York was a bit of an aberration.
It looks like those people were wrong.
A little less than three-dozen games into the season, Cespedes has proven unequivocally that he's one of the top-five power hitters in the game. The two-time Home Run Derby champion has gotten into a groove at the plate, and is hitting the ball with as much authority as ever. He's batting .296 with a .377 on-base percentage, is tied for second in the National League with 11 home runs and is tied for the league lead with 31 RBIs. The barrel-chested outfielder is also tied for second in the NL in slugging percentage (.667) and sixth in OPS (1.044).
You take the good with the bad when it comes to Cespedes. Yeah, he occasionally takes plays off and makes boneheaded decisions, the majority of which are inexcusable. He doesn't always run on dropped third strikes and misplays balls in the outfield from time to time. But his ability to change the game with one swing outweighs all of that, and then some. And let's not discount the fact that Cespedes has a Roberto Clemente-like cannon in center field, which he showcased on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Did Cespedes fall into Alderson's lap this winter? Perhaps. Was the GM always a few steps ahead, fully aware of the situation before pouncing in brilliant, shrewd fashion? Maybe. We'll never really know and, frankly, it really doesn't matter.
Cespedes is making Alderson look like a genius, and, far more importantly, he's making the Mets' lineup one of the scariest in baseball.
Brad Kallet is the managing editor of TENNIS.com and a frequent contributor to WFAN.com. Follow him on Twitter @brad_kallet
