CESPEDES SIGNS!!!

[RealityChuck]

How about Washington? Offered more money for Zobrist, Heyward and Cespedes and were jilted each time. Maybe they need a better pick up line.

It didn't help that this is was part of their recruiting film:

[Frayed Knot]

So let's break this down and flesh it out a bit

- opt-outs are now officially the new black

- if we get the Cespedes of 2013-14 [744 OPS combined] then the team is going to have a lot of disappointed fans on their hands -- THIS ISN'T WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR!!!! -- plus the specter of an expensive contract hanging over their heads for the following two seasons even though the $27.5 salary for '15 becomes slightly cheaper (~$23.5/per) in years 2 & 3

- if we get something more like Cespedes of 2012 + 2015 [~900 OPS] -- to say nothing of Cespedes circa NYM Aug-Sep 2015 (942 OPS) -- then the team will likely have a good season overall (subject to a ton of other factors obviously) but then run the risk that he walks again. Hard to say how likely that is as it's not like there's a huge sample size of opt-out history although I believe the few players who have had them have used them every time (ARod, CC)

- if he doesn't exercise the opt-out it almost certainly means Lagares goes at some point. Maybe they could handle one more year of making him the 4th OF they're not going to hang on to him for long in that role as his contract starts to get more expensive waiting for the Cespedes deal to run out. They could still deal him this winter although I doubt they want to sell low or depend too much on Conforto just yet.

- The other alternative would be to try and trade the final year of Granderson's deal but I think the window on that is closed this year

- looks like they COULD sign Cespedes even despite the existence of the Lagares contract and without the Wright insurance money

[Guest d'Kong76]

Knew he'd be back all along. For my next prediction I'll...

[MFS62]

This snowstorm is a plot by the fucking Yanks to keep the Cespedes signing off the front pages.

Great move.
Great contract.
Sandy for President.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Ran into this on fb:

They left out the Detroit and Chicago bluffs.

Frayed Knot wrote: - if he doesn't exercise the opt-out it almost certainly means Lagares goes at some point. Maybe they could handle one more year of making him the 4th OF they're not going to hang on to him for long in that role as his contract starts to get more expensive waiting for the Cespedes deal to run out. They could still deal him this winter although I doubt they want to sell low or depend too much on Conforto just yet.

As noted above, there's also the possibility of transitioning Cespedes to DH (should the universal DH come to pass), opening up more room in the outfield for Lagares and Nimmo. Or Conforto or Granderson to DH.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: As noted above, there's also the possibility of transitioning Cespedes to DH (should the universal DH come to pass), opening up more room in the outfield for Lagares and Nimmo. Or Conforto or Granderson to DH.

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted but then didn't tack it on because I don't want to even contemplate life under that fucking rule.

[Mex17]

One very minor issue created by this is that Flores, Plawecki, and/or d'Arnaud are really going to have to put some extra reps in at first base while in Florida. That need would have been alleviated had it been Raburn joining the team as opposed to Yo coming back (not that I am complaining).

That one little thing aside, there are no discernible holes on this team whatsoever. Stellar rotation. Solid lineup. Improved defense. More than respectable bullpen. Deep bench. They ought to be in the top five to compete for the entire ball of wax in 2016.

Let's play some baseball!

Edited January 23, 2016 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

Flores needed the reps, anyhow. Second-stringer on both of the corners and third-stringer up the middle works for me.

[Mex17]

One more financial point before we can put that to bed for the season and enjoy some baseball. . .

The pundits have been wrong every step of the way concerning this contract negotiation and now they are all but guaranteeing that this will only be a one year stay and I refuse to take that as gospel! Say this year goes as planned and Yo still loves the team and the city and the Wilpons love what they see on the balance sheet and Alderson is convinced that there would not be a falling off the cliff in production from an age 33 Cespedes. Is it so unreasonable to think that they can all mutually agree on turning the remaining 2 years at $50 million into three years at $66 million (reducing the annual salary from $25 to $22) while also kicking in an additional $9 million in deferred money (say $1 million a year for nine years when he is in his fifties) so that they can say that he has "nine figure contract"?

It's something to think about for next November.

[Frayed Knot]

dArnaud and/or Plawecki getting some reps at 1B (or a different position for that matter) is a good idea independent of the Cespedes signing. But I don't expect either to be the first choice in backing up Duda; Flores, Walker, and maybe even Wright would likely be ahead of the catching duo on that front.

The gap in pay between year 1 and years 2 & 3 of the Cespedes deal isn't that great where him opting-out is a given and there's too much time and too many factors between now & November to predict that stuff accurately now.
But, yes, a player using that option as a way to spur a team into renegotiating an extended deal is one of the main benefits of the opt-out. Rod & CC did exactly that with the Yanx (to the team's eventual regret in both cases) and there will certainly be enough opt-outs coming up over the next few years where we'll get to see if that becomes the norm or whether some teams will dare their players to give up the remainder of the contract with the hope that there's a better one somewhere else.

[TransMonk]

The team is better than it was at the end of 2015 (on paper, anyway). As mentioned above, not a lot of holes.

I think it would be hard to say that Sandy hasn't been the best GM in baseball over the past 6 months. Getting Cespedes at the deadline without moving major-leaguers was no small feat...but getting him to re-sign without a long-term deal is a miracle, IMO. All this while battling cancer...hip, hip, hooray!

I can't wait for opening day.

[Mex17]

Heyman confirmed on MLB Network that the Mets get a compensation pick if Yo opts out.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Mex17 wrote: One more financial point before we can put that to bed for the season and enjoy some baseball. . . The pundits have been wrong every step of the way concerning this contract negotiation and now they are all but guaranteeing that this will only be a one year stay and I refuse to take that as gospel! Say this year goes as planned and Yo still loves the team and the city and the Wilpons love what they see on the balance sheet and Alderson is convinced that there would not be a falling off the cliff in production from an age 33 Cespedes. Is it so unreasonable to think that they can all mutually agree on turning the remaining 2 years at $50 million into three years at $66 million (reducing the annual salary from $25 to $22) while also kicking in an additional $9 million in deferred money (say $1 million a year for nine years when he is in his fifties) so that they can say that he has "nine figure contract"? It's something to think about for next November.

It might take a lot more than that, especially if Cespedes has a star 2016 season. Yo's opt-out will give him the leverage to force the Mets to renegotiate the last two years big-time in order to keep him. Definitely TBD becuase this has been one of the most unpredictable FA pursuits that I can recall.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[fimg=444:6nfetk98]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2506959.1453561383!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_400/back-0123-copy.jpg[/fimg:6nfetk98]

I'da deducted points for originality if they'd went with Yes-Pedes.

[Mex17]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Mex17 wrote: One more financial point before we can put that to bed for the season and enjoy some baseball. . . The pundits have been wrong every step of the way concerning this contract negotiation and now they are all but guaranteeing that this will only be a one year stay and I refuse to take that as gospel! Say this year goes as planned and Yo still loves the team and the city and the Wilpons love what they see on the balance sheet and Alderson is convinced that there would not be a falling off the cliff in production from an age 33 Cespedes. Is it so unreasonable to think that they can all mutually agree on turning the remaining 2 years at $50 million into three years at $66 million (reducing the annual salary from $25 to $22) while also kicking in an additional $9 million in deferred money (say $1 million a year for nine years when he is in his fifties) so that they can say that he has "nine figure contract"? It's something to think about for next November. It might take a lot more than that, especially if Cespedes has a star 2016 season. Yo's opt-out will give him the leverage to force the Mets to renegotiate the last two years big-time in order to keep him. Definitely TBD becuase this has been one of the most unpredictable FA pursuits that I can recall.

Upton is signed at $22 million a season through his age 33 season (he got his 6 year contract when he is two years younger than Yo is now). You can use that to say that this is how far you stretch it out to. It's too bad for Yo but the fact is that he loses a little bit from having been stuck in Cuba when other players were able to start their clock earlier.

[Lefty Specialist]

Wow. Wasn't even paying attention to Mets news with the snow.

Bought a Cespedes World Series shirsey on a lark when Modell's was clearing them out for 5 bucks. Turned out to be a good investment.

It's just so weird seeing the Mets behave like a real major league team.....

[Frayed Knot]

Mex is right in the sense that what players with options usually want in a renegotiation is to tack-on years to their deal rather than to merely up the per/year money on seasons already negotiated.

It's too bad for Yo but the fact is that he loses a little bit from having been stuck in Cuba when other players were able to start their clock earlier.

Yeah, but then he also got to use his FA status coming into MLB to force his way to FA-gency after just four seasons instead of having to wait six so that partially makes up for it.
Upton simply came up younger than almost anyone (foreign or American) so he gets to be a younger FA than most too.
And just wait three years for Harper, Bryce: he'll hit the FA market just two weeks after turning 26, nearly two and a half years younger than J Upton is now and only about six months older than A. Rodriguez back when he signed his deal w/Texas.

[Guest old original jb]

I had to come back when this happened.

Up until now, almost all of the Mets' offseason moves were focused on players who were Workmanlike to a Stevetrachselonian degree.

Cespedes signing--that's different.

[Guest themetfairy]

old original jb wrote: I had to come back when this happened. Up until now, almost all of the Mets' offseason moves were focused on players who were Workmanlike to a Stevetrachselonian degree. Cespedes signing--that's different.

Welcome back jb!

[Edgy MD]

Dear Mets,

It's a few feet of snow out there and all, but if there's anything I can do to speed up this whole physical thing, let me know.

Love,

Edgy

[Edgy MD]

[fimg=700:nqcfats2]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/mancrush.png[/fimg:nqcfats2]

[Zvon]

#mymancrushisback

lol.

[nymr83]

Edgy MD wrote: Dear Mets, It's a few feet of snow out there and all, but if there's anything I can do to speed up this whole physical thing, let me know. Love, Edgy

I'm waiting for the Megdal arrticle.... THE WILPONS ARE TEH SUCKIEST! WHY NOT WORK HARDER TO GET CESPEDES TO PHYSICAL???? THEY ARE TOO CHEAP!

[Lefty Specialist]

I love Syndergaard. He's like a fan who can throw 100-MPH fastballs.

[Guest themetfairy]

[fimg=400:v3vavc57]https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12548883_10208263294041443_2775297157975896841_n.jpg?oh=ccf67294ec19d3a365c3dd714b97dab6&oe=5743226C[/fimg:v3vavc57]

[Zvon]

themetfairy wrote: [fimg=400]https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12548883_10208263294041443_2775297157975896841_n.jpg?oh=ccf67294ec19d3a365c3dd714b97dab6&oe=5743226C[/fimg]

lolol, classic. You make that? I'd like to share it.

[Guest themetfairy]

Zvon wrote: themetfairy wrote: [fimg=400]https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12548883_10208263294041443_2775297157975896841_n.jpg?oh=ccf67294ec19d3a365c3dd714b97dab6&oe=5743226C[/fimg] lolol, classic. You make that? I'd like to share it.

I did not. I shared it on Facebook from Howie Hirsch's post (I don't know him personally).

These stick figure creations are suddenly ubiquitous on Facebook, but this one made me laugh (especially the inclusion of the Rally Parakeet ).

[Zvon]

There's a generator that makes these that's making the rounds on fb. I can't find the link atm. I could tell this was a spoof of one of those.
Yea, the parakeet makes it.

[Guest themetfairy]

Zvon wrote: There's a generator that makes these that's making the rounds on fb. I can't find the link atm.

Is This It?

[Zvon]

Yes.

I don't like any that came up for me so far. None fit.