Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes Opts Out of 2020 Season
On August 2, 2020 Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets shocked baseball fans across the country by skipping his scheduled game that afternoon. Not only did Cespedes skip the game but he never contacted team officials as to why he would not be attending.
The lack of communication caused the team to send a security detail to Cespedes’s room only to find it empty with no sign of him anywhere. In addition, Cespedes had moved out of the room with all of his belongings and was not answering any phone calls or text messages.
Later that day Cespedes’s agent informed the team that he would be opting out of his contract for the 2020 season because of “Covid related reasons”.
Since this announcement an image of Cespedes greeting fans at a shopping mall has gone viral. It all leaves fans wondering what might be the real reasoning behind his opting out of the contract. Does he want easy money or is he protecting the team from a possible virus outbreak?
Regardless of the reason for Cespedes’s no-notice opt out, he was not helping the Mets much through their first eight games of the season. He was hitting a poor .161 average prior to this incident, and the Mets have a record of 3-7 with a five-game losing streak.
Cespedes is also thirty-four years old and has been battling injuries these past two seasons, so he is likely heading towards the end of his professional baseball career.
The Mets are an up and coming team and could use the leadership of the veteran Cespedes so it will be interesting to see if he decides to continue his tenure with this team and if it changes the team dynamic.
In conclusion, Yoenis Cespedes opted out of his contract just this past weekend without informing team officials and it is uncertain what the future will hold for the remainder of his career.
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