Report: Yoenis Cespedes removes time-restraint clause in contract
New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has agreed to waive a clause in his contract that would have forced the team either to re-sign Cespedes in the five days after the World Series ended or wait until May 15, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Cespedes is in the last year of a four-year, $32 million contract he signed with Oakland in 2012. The Mets will now be able to negotiate a contract with Cespedes and sign him during any part of the off-season. The contract change was agreed upon in the “past 10 days,” reports Sherman.
In 136 games this season, Cespedes has hit .298 with 31 home runs and 92 RBIs for the Detroit Tigers and Mets. Since coming to New York in a July 31 trade, he has hit .311/.358/.669 with 13 homers and 31 RBIs in 34 games. In his four-year MLB career, Cespedes has hit .272 with 102 home runs and a .320 on-base percentage while playing for the Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Tigers and Mets.
• JAFFE: AL East, West, wild card offer best hope for chaos
New York entered Tuesday five games ahead of the Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East. The Mets and Nationals play Tuesday night in the second game of a three-game series.
– Rohan Nadkarni
