Yoenis Cespedes’s Not Very Excellent Adventure

A day that began with people fearing the worst about Yoenis Cespedes ended with a “surprising” opt-out of the 2020 season.

Let’s recap. Just a short time after their game in Atlanta started on Sunday afternoon, Brodie Van Wagenen issued the following statement:

“As of game time, Yoenis Cespedes has not reported to the ballpark today. He did not reach out to management with any explanation for his absence. Our attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful.”

Ominous indeed. A little while later, the Mets offered some clarity, saying they were not concerned about Cespedes’s safety. Which means he was still alive.

After the game, Van Wagnenen announced Cespedes was opting out of the season for “COVID-related reasons,” adding, “It was surprising, without question.”

Cespedes struggled in his return to baseball following two years away for various boar-related injuries. He was hitting just .161 with two homers and four RBIs before calling it quits.

So there it is. Yoenis Cespedes’s star-crossed career with the Mets is apparently over. Let’s remember the way he carried the Mets on his back to the World Series after being acquired in 2015 and helping the team to a Wild Card in 2016 instead of these last four injury-riddled, baffling seasons.

Sunday will go down as another bizarre day in the history of the franchise we all still love for some reason.