MLB Free Agents 2016: Washington Nationals, New York Mets in Bidding War for Yoenis Cespedes
The Washington Nationals and New York Mets are in a bidding war for the services of free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The Nationals have offered Cespedes a five-year deal while the Mets are not willing to give him a contract longer than three years, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports via Twitter.
According to Rosenthal's FOX Sports report, the Cuban slugger is still undecided on Washington and New York. He prefers the reported five-year contract by the Nationals, but Cespedes prefers staying with the Mets, whose offer stands at a three-year deal.
It is also noted that the amount of dollars in both deals are currently unknown or if there are any offers from other MLB teams. In a report by USA Today, the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox are also interested on Cespedes and is a great fit for any of the teams mentioned.
MLB.com reported earlier this week that the 30-year-old is looking for a six-year deal with an annual salary of around $22 million and will not sign any short-term deal. However, Rosenthal noted that Cespedes' agent Brodie Van Wagenen still talking to the Mets front office and will be discussing a possible resolution on Friday.
Cespedes batted a .291 average with 35 home runs and 105 RBIs in 159 games with the Detroit Tigers and the Mets last season, per Baseball Reference. He arrived in New York at the trade deadline for two minor league pitchers.
Mets manager Terry Collins had high praise for Cespedes when asked about him at St. John's University Baseball Bullpen Winter Banquet last Thursday. "He works very hard to be a good teammate," Collins said.
"He has things that he does right before a game in the batting cage. When he walks onto that field, he's legit. I've been around a lot of great players. I've seen a lot of great players. This guy, just strictly tools, the five tools, he's got them all," he added.
On the other hand, MLB Daily Dish believes that the Nationals are really interested in Cespedes because they also tried to sign Jason Heyward and Justin Upton before they ended up with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers, respectively. However, the report notes that signing the power hitting outfielder does not make any sense for Washington because they already have four MLB-ready outfielders in the roster.
The Nationals have acquired Ben Revere from the Blue Jays this offseason to platoon with 24-year-old prospect Michael Taylor. They also have the reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper and 36-year-old Jayson Werth, who still has two-years left on his contract as well as a full no-trade clause.
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