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| PC - Ed Delany |
Yoenis Cespedes is looking to return to the field with the
Mets in 2019, but he is not quite sure when that will be. He has been working
hard with the daily workouts as he tries to get back into game shape as he is
recovering from heel surgery. Cespedes will begin baseball activities next
week.
He does not know when the doctors will clear him to begin running. He has
been frustrated knowing that he can’t assist the team, because he has been out
of the game for months and is bored. Nobody really knows when Cespedes will
actually return.
He did say that he feels better. He can currently walk without
any pain which is a good sign. The Mets will look forward to have his bat in the
lineup. Once Cespedes does come back there is no guarantee that he will be a thirty-home
run slugger again.
His goal when he returns is for his body to be one- hundred
percent like it was in 2015. Since he signed that $110 million contract, he has
appeared in 119 games with a .282 batting average and 26 home runs.
Tim Tebow is likely to begin the 2019 season at Triple-A Syracuse,
but General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen thinks that he has a chance to make the opening
day roster. In 2018 he played for the New York Mets Eastern League Affiliate-the
Binghamton Rumble Ponies and was named to the Eastern League All-Star Team in
his second full season in the Mets minor league system.
His success from his
college football days of two national titles and winning a Heisman trophy at
Florida had created an impact in attendance. His popularity had helped the
Florida state league boost attendance by 12.4% during his first year in the
minor leagues.
The Mets signed former New York Yankee infielder Adeiny Hechavarria
to a minor league deal and he will back up Amed Rosario. He is 29 and served as
a backup shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Yankees last season.
Mets
manager Mickey Callaway wants his team to be the best defensive team they can
be, because of their pitching and they are going to address that as they move
forward. I thought the Yankees would re-sign him since he did a good job for
them defensively. I’m also surprised the other teams did not try to sign him.
Cespedes can "look to return this season" all he wants.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately against him achieving this are:
1)history of 30+yr olds recovery in the post steroid era
2) Tulowitzki's performance upon his return from similar surgery
3) the delayed surgery not being completed until late October with a Minimum recovery period if 8 to 10 months.
(8 months = late June, 10 months = late August)
4) even after recovery, Cespedes will have not played baseball for over a full year. He will need to be reconditioned and gear up to play daily baseball)
5) Cespedes own personal history with injury recovery, set backs, and new injuries
Practically thinking the Mets fans and organization can not make any plans that depend on Cespedes in 2019. He can only be looked at as a surprise bonus that is highly unlikely.
Let's hope that a healthy Yoenis Cespedes is our "trade deadline acquisition."
ReplyDeleteI firmly am in the camp that we will see Tebow in September in Queens. He has the grace to do that, amidst a media swirl, in a pennant race...which the Mets will be in this year.
My thoughts on The Adeiny Acquisition will follow in a separate article tomorrow. I hear it is a great thriller flick.
Bob, I hope for a minimum of Cespedes as a Sept pinch hitter - which still could make him a difference maker in 2019.
ReplyDeleteSorry Tom
ReplyDeleteIt's true that we can't make plans that depend on Yo returning this year, but it would be equally wrong to do the opposite. There are fans who want the team to add a "big RH bat", which would not only take ABs from our current young OFers (including McNeil, until proven otherwise), but create a huge logjam when Yo returns, whether it be this year or next.
ReplyDeleteBig bat = big $$$ and more than 1 year, unless it's a trade for a rental costing young talent.
We really have no option other than giving time to the talent we have while hoping and waiting for our own expensive big bat to return.
Well, not exactly, metsiac.
ReplyDeleteMets could have added, say, Machado and it would not have affected the implications of Cespedes' return. Hopefully Cano, instead, gives Mets some of that.
My guess is that he'll return. But no, it can't be the plan. Team should have a much clearer idea about that in another month or two. The dream is what Tom already mentioned: that he's the big July acquisition.
Jimmy P
I am agree with Unknown.
ReplyDeleteCespedes is dead to me until he isn't anymore.
I watched the 2+ years wasted on waiting for Wright to come back in PRO BASEBALL.
This is not stick ball with your buddies.
I don't believe in assuming anything, pro or con. Unlike David, Yo hasn't been diagnosed with an incurable condition that will end his career.I will hope for the best , and wait and see what happens, but I don't see a major "hole" in our current OF. If he can't return this season, there is virtually no reason to believe that he won't return by OD next year.
ReplyDelete