Weird story this weekend.

Veteran Yoenis Cespedes simply could not be found. He didn’t report to Atlanta’s ballpark on Sunday, didn’t tell anybody, and his hotel room was empty. At least that’s what we were told.

Everybody was concerned that something had happened, that perhaps he had gone missing or there was a terrible accident or something along those lines, but nope. He informed the Mets, via his agent, that he was opting out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns after playing eight games this season. He was 5-31 with 15 strikeouts and hitting .161 as the team’s DH.

I strongly suspect – and this is not scientific, just a hunch – that the Mets being total dog shit on and off the field played a role in his decision, which seems to be backed by these passages in the New York Daily News:

(GM Brodie) Van Wagenen announced Cespedes opted out of the season due to “COVID-related reasons.” At least one person, a friend to Cespedes, reportedly told the Post that, “Due to the recent outbreaks of having a family member with a pre-existing condition, Yoenis felt the decision to opt out was best for him and his family.”

But a person within the Mets’ PR department told the Daily News that Cespedes’ decision to opt out has nothing to do with the virus. Since Cespedes bounced from his hotel room and the public did not get to hear the player’s side of the story, a person within the organization suggesting that his opt-out did not derive from “COVID-related reasons” not only goes against what the GM is putting out, but is completely insensitive and irresponsible to the player.

And here’s what the New York Post reported:


“…multiple sources confirmed that twice in the first nine games of the season, Cespedes confronted Mets officials concerned about playing time and that he would be kept out of lineups to prevent him from reaching lucrative performance bonuses. One of those came Saturday, when Cespedes first talked to Luis Rojas and then Brodie Van Wagenen about his playing status and bonuses. Then Cespedes knew before the buses left for Truist Park on Sunday he was not in the starting lineup and he never showed for the game against the Braves, triggering a bizarre day even for the Mets.”

Interesting, and here’s a general thought –

Would you want to play for a 3-7 team in front of zero fans? Nah. Cespedes decided to peace out for that and other reasons, wrapping up the four year, 110 million dollar deal he signed in 2017 via agent Van Wagenen, who is now the Mets’ general manager. In that time frame, he played 127 games, hit 28 homers, and knocked in 75 runs. What a great piece of business by the New York baseball team. It’s gotta be brutal supporting that club.

We’ll leave you with this on a Monday morning:

https://twitter.com/20154Ryan/status/1290128223267721217?s=20