The Cespedes Trade: Then and Now

     From April through July of the 2015 season, the Mets were the worst offensive team in baseball. Their eulogy read something like this: last in runs scored- only 3.54 a game, hitting .234 as a team, with a .662 OPS, while hitting 0.9 homers per game. The lineup was tragic in and of itself, where the cleanup hitter was John Mayberry Jr. and the likes of Eric Campbell behind him. While they were batting .170 and .179 respectively, they didn't make it so the middle of the Mets order would strike fear into the opposing pitcher.

     Something clearly needed to happen: enter the Detroit Tigers. Then GM of the Tigers Dave Dombrowski and GM of the Mets Sandy Alderson worked diligently to nearly the last minute of the trade deadline to work out a deal. That deal would be as follows : 

Detroit Tigers sent Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets for Double-A pitching prospect Michael Fulmer and pitcher/infielder prospect Luis Cessa.

           

Fulmer was named 2015 Eastern League pitcher of the year. He was considered to be an elite prospect held in high regard, as well as the main chip in this trade. Some projected Fulmer to be a future ace or top end of the rotation starter. A former first round pick, Fulmer was anticipated to develop into a dominating pitcher rivaling the likes of Harvey, Wheeler , and Syndergaard. Losing him was seemingly a big price to pay for what appeared to be a rental bat. 

     But to ease the Mets' fans worries about trading away too much of the future, an offensive resurgence was one the horizon. After Cespedes arrived, the Mets turned into the best offensive team in their league: first in runs scored, hitting .275 with an .840 team OPS, averaging 6.2 runs and 1.7 homers per game. Becoming an offensive juggernaut combined with their stellar pitching, lead them to their first Eastern Division title since 2006, first National League pennant since 2000, and a World Series birth. 

     After a successful season, it would be hard to look back and regret the trade that turned it all around. What started out as a temporary bid for Yoenis Cespedes, turned into resigning him to the Mets for a 3 year/$75 million contract. As if the return of an MVP caliber, elite athlete was not enough, Mets' fans have recently discovered that the bargaining chip used to obtain Cespedes is not worth as much as we, or the receiving team once thought. 

     According to the current GM of the Detroit Tigers, Al Avila, Fulmer is now viewed as a future closer. Avila made this proclamation on the program High Heat, played on the MLB network show with Mad Dog Russo . Avila stated that he perceives Fulmer to be a back end of the bullpen, late inning guy, possibly one to take the closer role from the man holding that position: Francisco KROD Rodriguez . What happened to top-end of the rotation? Fulmer, who was once looked at to be an ace of a staff, is now being looked at as late inning relief. This trade seems to unfold in an even brighter light favoring the Mets.
     Trading what could eventually be two bullpen pieces for an MVP candidate that brought you to a World Series; every team would make that move. There is always a risk when trading away a major league player for minor league prospects. The major league player has already proven his ability while one can only speculate and project what will be the outcome for the prospects. As it sits right now, the value of the once elite level pitching prospect Michael Fulmer has taken a hit. He is potentially never going to live up to the hype that made this deal possible in the first place.

Yoenis Cespedes: A Character in Question

     At a time when players are selling themselves to the highest bidder, holding out for the best possible contract, waiting for their money and willing to go wherever to get it; Yoenis Cespedes demonstrated some true character. A character which was very much in question these past few weeks leading up to his decision.

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     "Yoenis doesn't hustle all the time, he doesn't take batting practice, smokes cigarettes in between innings, bad attitude, not a good teammate, marches to his own drum," and so on and so forth. This draws everyone to the conclusion that maybe no one would want that type of player on their team... but did he deserve such a bad rap?
     Cespedes became a victim of the media. Writers had to embellish stories to generate a buzz and sell papers. Yes, he may smoke a cigarette from time to time but he is not the only player to do so. Does he run every pop-up out? No, but neither does every other ball player. These questions could be brought up for several other players, not just him.
     It was just last season when reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper was confronted by teammate Jonathan Papelbon for not hustling. This confrontation escalated quickly into a physical altercation. Yet, Harper's name is not brought up in conversation for being be a bad teammate. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was actually released by the Mets (coincidentally) for not hustling. When you hear Henderson's name though, you think Hall of Fame player, not a bad teammate. 

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 The captain of the Mets, David Wright, expressed the desire to bring back Cespedes. Wright even emphatically refuted the claims that Cespedes was a bad teammate. David instead praised Yoenis as a player and a person. Many other team members like pitcher Noah Syndergaard expressed the same sentiment. Noah even sent out a tweet asking if Cespedes needed a roommate and stating how thrilled he was to have his man crush back: #bestfriendsforever.

     Manager Terry Collins came out publicly to commend Yoenis on his work ethic. He specifically commented on all the time he spends in the batting cages before games. Collins said he appreciated the effort Cespedes puts forward trying to learn the language and be a good teammate. 

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     Cespedes ultimately showed his true character when he turned away offers for more money to re-sign with a team he bonded with and loved playing for. He said many times how he loves New York and loves the Mets. After being traded to the Mets last season, Cespedes had his agent remove a clause in his contract that limited the window of time that the Mets would be able to negotiate with him.

     All along he wanted to put back on that orange and blue. In a time where players scratch and fight tooth and nail for every dollar they get, Cespedes emulated what it truly means to be a team player by turning down those higher offers and returning to the Mets. Now that's true character. 

Zack Wheeler: A Forgotten Future Ace

     Acquired by trade from the San Francisco Giants for outfielder and slugger Carlos Beltran, Zack Wheeler immediately became one of the Mets' top prospects in the system. We all eagerly awaited his arrival. In June of 2013, that day finally came.

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     It was a sunny afternoon in Georgia, a double header on tap for the Mets against the long rivaled Atlanta Braves. It was on this day that young pitching prospect Zack Wheeler would make his debut. If making his first major league appearance wasn't stressful enough, he had to follow Matt Harvey. The Dark Knight went out and flirted with a no hitter while striking out 13 for a Mets' win. Considering the added pressure, Wheeler, the Atlanta native did not fail to impress. He delivered an outstanding pitching performance: six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters and giving up only four hits. On this day, Mets' fans knew their future was indeed bright. 

     A tandem of aces took the mound that day, which instilled not just confidence in the players, but also hope of a brighter future for Mets' fans. This bright future suffered the most dreadful heartbreak when we lost Matt Harvey to Tommy John surgery for the 2014 season. A void left in the front of the rotation would require someone to step up. 

     Insert the heir apparent, Zack Wheeler. In 2014, Wheeler started more games than any other Mets' pitcher with 32 starts. He threw over 185 innings while striking out 187 batters. The ace posted a more than respectable ERA of 3.54, which was below the major league average. Wheeler finished the year with an even .500 record of 11-11, which does not do him justice for just how great he pitched. Frequently, Keith Hernandez spoke in the booth of how special Wheeler is. He is the perfect combination of wild and controlled, which keeps hitters off balance. Indeed Zack Wheeler is a special pitcher.

     Alas, Zack would suffer the same fate as Matt Harvey... Tommy John surgery. The 2015 season was lost. During his time away, Wheeler got to witness the rise of a rotation that teams could only dream of: Harvey, Degrom, Syndergaard, and Matz. This starting rotation rivaled not only any other in baseball today, but could be matched up against any other in the history of the game. It couldn't have been easy for him to sit at home and want to be apart of that.

      Shortly thereafter, he found himself in the midst of trade rumors. First were the rumblings of being dealt to the likes of Cincinnati, followed by a confirmed deal including Wilmer Flores to the Milwaukee Brewers for center fielder and former Met Carlos Gomez. After this reported trade had fallen through, Wheeler contacted the general manager of the Mets, Sandy Alderson and asked that he stay on the team, he wasn't done yet.

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You cannot ask for much more than that from a player. Zack wants to pitch in New York for the Mets. He wants to be apart of helping this team win. Currently, Wheeler is rehabbing from his surgery and is already ahead of schedule in beginning a throwing program. He is scheduled to make his appearance around the All-Star break. This is one Mets' fan that can't wait to add another ace back into potentially the best pitching rotation that baseball has ever seen.

Only Fools Rush In

     Who's fooling who? Are the fans being bamboozled by the Mets' brass? Their recent moves, or lack thereof, would have us believe they are interested in these high-priced free agents- but is it just a ploy to appease the fan-base?  
     The diabolical plot goes as follows: go after free agents that other teams are interested in and are sure to land, but make it publicly known that we the Mets are "in the hunt" also. Did they really go after Zobrist? Was there truly even an offer made? Some reports suggest otherwise. Shortly after the Zobrist signing was announced, the Neil Walker for Jon Neise trade was made official. The time lapse between these two events is small enough that we have to wonder if it was the plan all along. This move was not expensive and essentially filled a hole from an area of excess.
     Moving onto the Cespedes debacle: "square peg in a round hole," Sandy said. So many statements and reports stating how the Mets are not interested and he is not in the plans. He just doesn't fit. In comes Baltimore, with a 5 year/$90 million offer and all of a sudden, the Mets are in on Cespedes? Why him? Because the fan base and even the players have come out and expressed how they would love having his bat back in the middle of that lineup. 

     The Orioles sign Chris Davis, which I thought would happen all along, and suddenly they don't have the money for Cespedes. The Cespedes offer was just a bargaining chip, and you would think the next announcement would be the resigning of Cespedes to the Mets... But instead, you get more reports on how he doesn't fit. That 3 year for maybe $60 million that was reported a few days ago is gone. 
     But if Yoenis wanted to take a 1 year/$18-22 million offer that's probably available. Just think about that- that's just about the cost of the draft pick compensation they would get when someone else signs him next season. The added revenue from attendance at Citi Field, merchandise, and hopefully a lengthy playoff run would easily cover this contract. Heaven forbid something bad were to happen (injuries/out of contention), Cespedes could easily be moved to a contender looking for a bat at the deadline in return for some prospects. 
     Let's backtrack Why have these offers only been unofficial and verbal? Why haven't there been any concrete, written offers on the table? Because that would actually give the player a genuine opportunity to accept it and the Wilpons would have to foot that bill. Cespedes aside, do they really want to sign any top dollar guy? Who's fooling who here? 
     Mets fans, wake up! Ownership is using the media to play us for fools. We've been made to play pawns in a horrible game by some of the most deplorable men in this business... the Wilpons. Why do they do it? To give us just enough hope to keep us on the hook- hope that we could actually act like a contending ball club that will spend to back its team up. 
     Who are we kidding though? We are Mets fans and we always have hope. This time, it's hope that maybe Sandy has something up his sleeve for some trade or some signing. Albeit this still most likely won't take place, but deep down where you bleed that orange and blue .. Ya gotta believe!!