Tigers trade Yoenis Cespedes to Mets
The Mets have finally picked up a big bat. They've acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers for two pitching prospects.
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The Mets have finally picked up a big bat. New York has acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers for minor league righties Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa, reports CBS Sports Insider Jon Heyman. Heyman reported the Mets were making a push for Cespedes earlier on Friday.
Earlier this week the Mets agreed to a trade that would have sent Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores to the Brewers for Carlos Gomez, but the deal fell apart, reportedly due to Gomez's medicals. Gomez was later traded to the Astros. The Mets then circled back and hammered out the deal for Cespedes.
Cespedes, 29, has now been traded three times in the last calendar year. He went from the Athletics to the Red Sox for Jon Lester at last summer's trade deadline, then from the Red Sox to the Tigers for Rick Porcello this past offseason. He will be a free agent after the season, and because of the way his contract is structured, Detroit would not have been able to make him a qualifying offer to recoup a draft pick had he signed elsewhere.
In 102 games this year Cespedes is hitting .293/.323/.506 (125 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 61 RBI. It is his most productive season since his stellar rookie year in 2012 (139 OPS+). Cespedes hit .251/.298/.446 (106 OPS+) with 48 home runs from 2013-14. He's also a solid defensive outfielder with a rocket arm.
Fulmer, 22, was the 44th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He has a 2.03 ERA with 92 strikeouts and 23 walks in 93 innings this season, almost all at Double-A. Baseball America ranked him as the 14th best prospect in New York's system before the season, though his stock is clearly on the rise this summer.
The 23-year-old Cessa has a 3.98 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 21 walks in 101 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A this year. Baseball America did not consider him one of the Mets top 30 prospects in their 2015 Prospect Handbook.
The Mets come into Friday at 52-50, three games back of the Nationals in the NL East and 4 1/2 games back of the second wild-card spot. They added Cespedes, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe before the deadline to help one of the worst offenses in baseball. Tyler Clippard was also brought in to beef up the bullpen.
The Tigers, meanwhile, committed to a "reboot" and traded away Cespedes and David Price before the deadline. They focused on MLB ready or close to MLB ready prospects like Fulmer and Cessa because they plan to contend in 2016.
