Cespedes, who was for injured at his ranch in what the team classified as a 'non-horse injury,' sidelined for all of 2019, this after leg injuries curtailed his 2018 campaign. 2020 Opening Day came and went with Cespedes' solo home run carrying the Mets to a narrow 1-0 victory to start the season with unbridled enthusiasm and excitement. After nearly two years out of the batters' box, it appeared the Cuban-born star was going to return to being a force in the middle of the Mets' lineup.
With the National League adopting the designated hitter rule for the remainder of the 2020 season--and likely all seasons moving forward--the Amazin's had the opportunity to keep his offense in the lineup without exposing him in the field due to a laundry list of leg injuries piling up over the years.
Despite a rule change that looked to enhance Cespedes' value and prolong his career, the outfielder turned DH expressed discontent behind the scenes to General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen. It was Cespedes and his camp that agreed to restructuring his deal for 2019, the second-to-last year of his contract, to reduce his salary from $29 million to $22.9 million in 2019.
When you breakdown the numbers, Cespedes had the final salary numbers were heavily incentive-based for 2020. Cespedes' base salary hovered at $6 million, but could increase to $11 million if he started the season healthy and off the injured list. The Mets slugger had the opportunity to earn another $9 million in incentives tied to plate appearances and $3.5 million in awards bonuses. Cespedes was also entitled to $2 million if he was traded to an American League club and $500,000 if he was traded to a National League Club.
Reading between the lines, Cespedes was clearly unhappy with his playing time, and the inability to earn the incentives escalators stipulated in his restructured deal. Likely splitting time with Robinson Cano as DH, this didn't allow for Cespedes to potentially earn the full value of the contract and made the money-hungry star unhappy. Whether it was back in 2015 when he was traded to the Mets as a pending free agent or when the Mets resigned him in 2017 to an extension, Cespedes has always been the most motivated when the most lucrative earning option is on the table.
When the Mets took his incentives away from him, by virtue of limiting his playing time, Cespedes expressed dissatisfaction to Van Wagenen to no avail. So when the former Met went AWOL during last Saturday's game against the Braves, it only confirmed that he didn't want to put his health on the line when his big payday wasn't going to be there. It's an unfortunate end to Cespedes' Mets' tenure as he was the impetus to carry the team to a 2015 World Series berth and NL Wildcard game a season later. It's clear it's time for both sides to move on from a relationship that started with such promise and ended in bitter disappointment.
0 comments:
Post a Comment