Report: Three Other Teams in on Yoenis Cespedes

Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted Wednesday that three other teams besides the Mets are interested in securing the service of Yoenis Cespedes for 2017 and beyond. Frankly, I’m not too concerned.

Puma does not say which teams they are, but two of them are almost certainly the Nationals and Phillies. Those are what most of the reports say, and if we learned nothing from the presidential election, it’s that reports are never wrong. The third team could be the Yankees, or it could be the Giants.

Let’s look at all four of those teams. First, the Nationals. Cespedes refused to sign with them last year when they offered $110 million. So why would he go to D.C. now?

The Phillies are terrible. Why would he sign with such a crummy team? Of course, he could hit 50 home runs in that bandbox.

I don’t think it is the Yankees; by most accounts, they want to shy away from big money, long-term deals for the time being.

The Giants are the wild card. It is obviously important to Cespedes where he plays. It is unclear if he enjoyed the Bay Area when he played for Oakland. If he did, he might want to go back and see if he can find his heart where he left it. And the Giants are certainly contenders, what with winning three of the last six World Series.

In the end, it appears Cespedes loves New York, and if the Mets can come close on dollars, he will likely pick them. Sandy Alderson knows he has a short window to bring a championship to Flushing before the young pitchers hit free agency. And he knows he needs Yoenis Cespedes to get the Mets to the promised land. If he has to promise a fifth year, he and the Wilpons will bite their respective tongues and do it, hoping by the time that year comes along, everyone will be wearing at least one World Series ring, and it will all be worth it.