The Nationals Want Cespedes, And Mets Fans Are About To Lose It
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Washington Nationals are in hot pursuit of free agent slugger Yoenis Cespedes, and that has many Mets fans furious.
After missing out on outfielders Jason Heyward and Justin Upton this offseason, the Nats have made a contract offer to Cespedes, Fox Sports reported.
According to CBSSports.com/WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman, Washington is "serious" about signing Cespedes and could offer five years, $100 million -- maybe more -- for the 30-year-old outfielder.
After batting .291 with 35 homers in 2015, Cespedes has reportedly been seeking a long-term, big-money contract.
The market for him, however, has been slow to develop. Two of his possible landing spots -- Baltimore and Detroit -- are likely no longer options after those teams struck deals with power-hitting outfielders Chris Davis and Upton in recent days, respectively.
The Mets made a trade-deadline deal with Detroit in July to bring Cespedes on board. He instantly gave the team's lagging offense the infusion it needed, batting .287 with 17 homers and 44 RBIs in 57 games.
The Mets, however, have been reluctant to offer the outfielder a long-term deal, but they have been staying in touch with Cespedes in hopes of signing him to a two- or three-year contract, Heyman reported.
The prospect of possibly losing Cespedes to the rival Nationals -- the same team that signed Mets postseason hero Daniel Murphy -- had many Amazin's fans on Twitter up in arms Thursday.
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