Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Mets News: Yoenis Cespedes Clause Waived

By Kenneth Teape

facebooktwitterreddit

New York Mets News: The Mets got some good news Tuesday as they found out the clause in Yoenis Cespedes’ contract, that would have made him a free agent five days after the World Series and unable to be re-signed, was waived.

When the New York Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers at the MLB Trade deadline, there was little hope that they would be able retain the outfielder in the offseason. Cespedes had a clause in his original contract that stated he could become a free agent after four-years, not the customary six, because of the experience he had playing previously in Cuba.

Also On Empire Writes Back: Who Is The Best First Baseman In Mets’ History?

This put the Mets in a difficult predicament, as they would have only five days to work out a deal with Cespedes after the World Series. The clause in his contract called that he would be released five days following the completion of the World Series. It was very unlikely that a deal would be reached between Cespedes and the Mets in that time frame, as Cespedes and his agent didn’t work out a deal like that for him to quickly agree to terms with the team he was on and not test the market.

But, the Mets are no longer under that restriction. It was announced Tuesday by general manager Sandy Alderson that the Mets are going to be allowed to remain a bidder throughout the offseason for Cespedes’ services per an agreement between Major League Baseball and the Player Association.

“It’s been signed off by all parties, including the union and Major League Baseball,” said Alderson Tuesday.

This is more positives for the Mets at a time when they needed some. Last week the debacle with Matt Harvey and his agent Scott Boras left a sour taste in the mouth of the Mets organization and their fans. On top of that, they lost two of three games to the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals were on fire and breathing down their neck. But, the Mets took the first two games of the series against the Nationals, and now have this little bit of positive news to go with it as well.

More from New York Mets

Had the Mets not been granted this waiver, they would have essentially been closed out of negotiations with Cespedes to keep him in orange and blue. Since MLB rules prohibit a team from re-signing a player until May 15th that was released, the Mets would have had to watch their best hitter from the last six weeks walk for nothing. That could still possibly happen, because the Mets are still not able to place a qualifying offer on Cespedes and get a draft pick since he was acquired via trade in season.

To this point, Cespedes has been everything the Mets had hoped for an more. He has provided the impact bat they were desperately looking for, while also playing solid defense in left field and centerfield. In 34 games with the Mets, Cespedes is hitting .311 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI, not including Tuesday night’s game. He added to the RB count Tuesday night, knocking in another three runs as he has become an indispensable piece of this Mets lineup.

This is great news for the Mets, as they will now be on even ground with the rest of baseball to retain Cespedes in the offseason. That five-day window would have really handicapped them, and put them behind the eight-ball in negotiations. Even though they won’t have exclusive rights to negotiate with him, not being under the gun of five days will give them a fair chance at bringing Cespedes back.

Next: Where Are The Mets In This Week's Power Rankings?

More from Empire Writes Back

Home/New York Mets