The Yoenis Decision (part 1)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

As much as I hate to focus on offseason issues in-season, what's your outlook on the whole "opt-in" decision?

I get that the Mets acquired Bruce in large part as a hedge if he goes, but to what extent do you suspect they got Bruce as an incentive to push Cespy out? IOW, "Go ahead and walk, we got a power hitting corner outfielder at half your cost, and by the way, playing hurt for the last month has hurt us as much as helped."

Crazy theory? Knowing the Mets it ain't. I am surprised btw Batmags hasn't checked in with such an opinion yet.

[TransMonk]

I don't think there is any doubt that Yo will try again to see what he can get on the open market in the off season. I believe an opt-out is all but certain (unless his injury sits him out for a large portion of the rest of the year).

I think the Mets will likely make an offer if he cannot find a long term deal like they did last season.

Yes, Bruce was a hedge against Yo leaving...but I'm not sure it was a move designed to get in Cespedes' head.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Sounds reasonable, and Yo has lost some shine anyways on several levels. For some
reason I've been thinking that Granderson is in his last year but of course he's not and
is owed like $15 mil for 2017. That's just money on some teams, not so sure the Mets
are there yet as far as the wallet goes.

[Ceetar]

I'm still torn about what seems to be a marked improvement by Cespedes with the Mets. I kind of expected him to revert more towards career norms and we'd be happy enough to let him opt out and get overpaid by someone else.

This version though..I dunno. I still wouldn't want to give him a long contract. Could we convince him to do the exact same contract again? front-loaded 2017 with an opt out?

Bruce shouldn't be holding up anyone and shouldn't really be a part of the 'future'. He's no Cespedes replacement. If Conforto doesn't work out and Nimmo doesn't step up and you're looking to shuffle Granderson away, sure. But the way things stand now I'm not comfortable with a Conforto-Nimmo/Lagares/Bruce outfield. Nor a Conforto/Granderson/Bruce outfield from a defensive standpoint.

No matter what the Mets do with this collection of players, there still seems to be that 'who plays CF and is this a disaster defensively?' question. Your three best outfielders are Cespedes, Granderson and Bruce and none of them really should be playing center.

Granderson is really the only lock right now. You can build some flexibility by moving him (Probably in the offseason so the acquiring club can utilize the QO/draft pick if the CBA stays similar) but that requires getting back some OF certainty somewhere. Same could be said for Bruce too, who obviously is going to play.

[ashie62]

Cespedes seems to genuinely like it here. But it is a business..

[TransMonk]

Yo has now been here for a year and a day:

150 G, 620 PA, 557 AB, 88 R, 162 H, 32 2B, 5 3B, 39 HR, 103 RBI, .291/.355/.576/.931

[Edgy MD]

Broke Delgado's record for most homers in his first 162 scheduled games as a Met.

[Lefty Specialist]

I think Yo opts and leaves. He'll get a nice contract from somebody. Bruce is a hedge but I don't think it was a head game. I'd really like to see Granderson moved.

Lagares I assume would man center next year, perhaps with a dash of Nimmo mixed in.

[Frayed Knot]

Part of the problem with the various injuries, both during this season and in years past, is that we STILL don't really know what we have in Lagares: will he ever hit enough to warrant an everyday job, or is he just a guy who'll mostly be limited to facing LHPs and subbing in for late-inning defense? And how they answer that question plays a big role in how they'll construct their OF in the near future.
If it's the latter then his escalating contract is about to make him overpaid.

[Zvon]

Cespedes was born to go into the HoF with a nice on his cap.

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I get that the Mets acquired Bruce in large part as a hedge if he goes, but to what extent do you suspect they got Bruce as an incentive to push Cespy out? IOW, "Go ahead and walk, we got a power hitting corner outfielder at half your cost, and by the way, playing hurt for the last month has hurt us as much as helped." Crazy theory? Knowing the Mets it ain't. I am surprised btw Batmags hasn't checked in with such an opinion yet.

Not crazy. Plausible.

Didja notice that "Jay Bruce" kinda sounds like "Babe Ruth"?

I don't know what the Mets are thinking, but a part of me thinks that Jeff W. has quietly usurped Sandy as the main decision maker. It sounds nutty, and if it were true, you'd expect Sandy to push back but still, that's what I'm thinking. If so, expect anything.

That's what I got for you if you want conspiracy theories.