Mike’s Mets Player Review Series: Yoenis Cespedes

Now that the 2018 season is over for the New York Mets, we have been looking back at the year that was. After taking a more general view of the offense, pitching, and coaching staff, it’s time to take a look back at the Mets’ players. This series will take a look at every player on the roster for the Mets at the end of season from B (Tyler Bashlor) to Z (Daniel Zamora). The review will look at their season statistics, stories, and what role (if any) they will have next season. We continue the series today with a look at outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

Player Review: Yoenis Cespedes

2018 Stats: 38 Games, 141 At Bats, .262 Batting Average, 37 Hits, 6 Doubles, 9 Home Runs, 29 RBI’s, 20 Runs Scored, 3 Stolen Bases, .821 OPS

Story: After missing half of the 2017 season due to injury, the Mets were hoping to get a healthy Yoenis Cespedes back in 2018. Cespedes had a weird start to the season, racking up a ton of strikeouts but still finding ways to come up with big hits in clutch situations. Things started to tick up for Cespedes towards the end of April and he looked primed to break out for good before suffering a leg injury on May 6th against the Colorado Rockies. The Mets tried to nurse Cespedes through the injury for a week before finally placing him on the disabled list. What happened next was a bizarre series of proclamations about Cespedes’ health, with the team publicly expressing disappointment that he was taking so long to come back from what the Mets deemed a minor injury.

Cespedes attempted a rehab assignment in early June but had to shut it down due to lingering soreness, delaying his return by a month. The Mets finally activated Cespedes after the All Star Break, where he served as the DH in a game at Yankee Stadium. Cespedes returned with style, launching a home run in the Mets’ win, but told reporters after the game that he needed surgery in both of his heels to try and help him avoid the recurring leg injuries that have plagued Cespedes’ Mets career. The team didn’t address the issue at all over the weekend, waiting until the middle of the following week to announce that Cespedes would be shut down for the rest of the year to have the surgeries. The procedures are expected to sideline the Mets’ best offensive player for a significant portion of 2019, but the good news is that if all goes well the constant muscle pulls Cespedes has dealt with should be a thing of the past.

Grade: C

When he was on the field, Cespedes was producing at an elite level. The problem, once again, was that he was not on the field for nearly enough games to help the Mets win consistently.

Contract Status: Signed Through 2020 (Will Make $29.5 Million in 2019)

Odds of Returning: 100%

2019 Role: Starting Outfielder (Eventually)

The facts are simple: the Mets are a far better team with Yoenis Cespedes on the field than they are without him. Cespedes’ injuries have killed the Mets the past two years as he has played in only 119 of the Mets’ 324 games since signing his new four year, $110 million deal. The Mets now have to wait for Cespedes to fully recover from the heel surgeries and get back into baseball shape, a process that should leave him out until roughly the All Star Break. There is no guarantee what Cespedes will look like when he gets back, so the team is in a really tough spot with him going forward.

Check back tomorrow as our Player Review Series continues with a look at outfielder Michael Conforto!