New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes says he thinks he will be able to return this season following surgery on both heels last summer, but he doesn’t know when he will be ready to play.
“I do feel like I will return. … It may be three months, it may be two months, it may be one month, but at this point, I do think I can return,” the 33-year-old slugger said Friday, speaking to reporters for the first time since camp opened. “When I do return, I plan on being 100 percent, like I was in 2015.
Cespedes was traded to the Mets at midseason in 2015 and helped power their drive to the NL championship. He hit 35 homers that season, with 105 RBIs and a .291 average.
But since signing a four-year, $110 million contract following the 2016 season, the two-time All-Star has appeared in just 119 games. He missed half the 2017 season with hamstring problems and played just 28 games last season before undergoing multiple surgeries on his heels to eliminate calcification and bone spurs.
As a Mets fan I want Cespedes back asap. But truth be told, the way long-term contracts like Cespedes’ have gone awry are a major reason why Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain free agents.