As part of his reported three-year, $75 million deal with the Mets, Yoenis Cespedes will have the ability to opt out of the contract after the first year. He will receive a $27.5 million salary for 2016 if he decides to opt out. Due to his major league service time, there was some question about whether he’d be eligible for a qualifying offer from the Mets in the event of an opt-out. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal provided some clarity on the matter this afternoon:
Cespedes eligible for qualifying offer if he opts out after one year. #Mets will get compensation pick if they make him QO and he departs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 23, 2016
In other words, this would be like any other normal free agent situation. At least assuming they remain with the same team for the entire season.
Barring an injury or a huge decline from his 2015 numbers, Cespedes will almost certainly exercise his opt-out and test the free agent market. The win-now Mets are fully-aware of this, but the potential draft pick compensation is yet another reason to like this deal from their perspective.
