In case you missed it last night, the New York Mets finally got their best offensive player back. Yoenis Cespedes provided a jolt to the lineup, going 2 for 4 with a home run and two runs scored in the Mets’ 7-5 victory, but dropped a bombshell after the game about his health. It turns out that doctors now believe that calcification in both of Cespedes’ heels is leading to his chronic leg issues, and the only fix is surgery that will sideline him for 8-10 months. To make matters worse, Cespedes showed up to work sore today and is out of the lineup just one day after returning from the disabled list.
Here’s a quote from Cespedes describing how the heel condition affects his game, courtesy of the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan:
“When I feel some pain on my heels, I started to modify my walking, my running, even my standing. That’s the main cause I am having [of] these problems in my leg.”
Keep in mind that Cespedes only served as the designated hitter last night, spending the majority of the game chilling in the dugout, and still got sore enough in five plate appearances that he couldn’t play today. That problem isn’t going to get any better when Cespedes has to play the field, which is going to be the vast majority of the Mets’ remaining games. Manager Mickey Callaway discussed how the Mets were going to manage Cespedes’ condition prior to the game (which was also before Cespedes told everyone he will need heel surgery at some point). The skipper’s thoughts were as follows (courtesy of Newsday’s Tim Healey):
[protected-iframe id=”6335ad6ea62b81b5268db151fa28bb8b-142507471-123575294″ info=”twsrc%5Etfw” class=”twitter-tweet”]Here’s Callaway’s thoughts today, courtesy of MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo:
[protected-iframe id=”8e32ad214416547d64179ac4c4ae5615-142507471-123575294″ info=”hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” class=”twitter-tweet”]Something is off here, especially when Callaway said yesterday that the Mets would need to scratch Cespedes if the team doesn’t feel he can make it through the game healthy. Callaway also claimed to have no knowledge of Cespedes’ heel condition before the slugger brought it up with the press last night. Those facts lead you to one of two conclusions: either Callaway is lying to the media or that he simply wasn’t told by the front office about the latest on Cespedes’ condition. Either way, it’s a bad look for a franchise that continues to look dysfunctional at every turn.
The next logical question is why exactly the Mets are trying to get Cespedes through the regular season before he has the surgery, which he admitted he will need in order to fully recover. The timetable of 8-10 months is scary, and if Cespedes waits until October to have the procedure he will basically be sidelined for all of 2019. By doing it now, Cespedes would have a chance to get back after missing a month or two at worst, which is what the Mets were originally going to do with Michael Conforto this year. It would be one thing if the Mets were in a dogfight for a playoff spot and willing to gamble on next year then since Cespedes could be the difference between qualifying for the postseason and sitting at home in October.
This Mets’ team is 15 games under .500, yet it sounds like they are in no hurry to address Cespedes’ heel problems. The strategy now appears to be showing up to the ballpark every day and hoping that Cespedes is physically well enough to play, perhaps by giving him the occasional day off and spending some time at first base to take stress off his legs. Considering that Cespedes got sore after one game and five at bats, this strategy can’t possibly work in the long term.
The Mets also deserve some blame for how they treated Cespedes while he was injured, with then General Manager Sandy Alderson openly questioning why Cespedes was taking so long to return from his hip injury in June. There were also a number of leaks that damaged Cespedes’ credibility to the fan base, such as the article that indicated the Mets gave Cespedes a no trade clause to prevent him from leaving in free agency. All of that played a part in Cespedes doing whatever he could to get back to the Mets even though he probably would have been better off undergoing the surgery as soon as the problem was discovered. Give credit to Cespedes for doing everything he could to get back on the field, but the fact is that he is currently playing injured and that doesn’t help anyone here.
The Mets have to be the adults in the room and let Cespedes get the procedure instead of making him look bad to their fanbase. The only hope the Mets have of contending in 2019 without adding a superstar in free agency is by getting healthy and productive years out of guys like Cespedes, Jay Bruce, and Todd Frazier. Delaying the inevitable only damages the team’s long term outlook, much like how the Mets are hurting themselves by refusing to let prospects play so guys like Jose Reyes, Matt den Dekker, and Jason Vargas get playing time. If Cespedes has already been told that his heels won’t improve without the surgery, having him re-evaluated constantly is a waste of time.
There is no way that a gimpy Cespedes playing twice a week will juice the ticket sales to the point that it is worth sacrificing a healthy player for 2019. The time for Cespedes to get this problem fixed is now, when the Mets have nothing going on, instead of later when they have hopes of winning next year. If they’re going to wait on Cespedes’ surgery, they might as well trade Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard now to kick start a rebuild. The Mets have no chance of winning with Cespedes missing most of 2019, so capitalizing on your assets would be the best way to get back to winning.
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