ESPN’s Marly Rivera interviewed Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes for SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight. In that interview, the soon-to-be free agent told Rivera that he will be searching for a contract of at least six years in length.
It’s not a particularly shocking detail, but it does give the Mets an idea of how big of a contract they’d need to offer to keep Cespedes in Queens. The slugger, since joining the Mets, is batting .295/.345/.661 with 17 home runs and 42 RBI. Overall, including his time with the Tigers, he has an .885 OPS, 35 home runs, and 103 RBI. All are career-highs for the 29-year-old.
Cespedes is just about at the end of a four-year, $36 million deal signed with the Athletics in February 2012 after he defected from Cuba. He will be one of the most sought after outfielders in free agency this off-season along with Justin Upton and Jason Heyward.