Mets' Yoenis Cespedes: Focused on staying healthy in 2017

Cespedes has been working hard in the offseason to strengthen his lower body and avoid a repeat of the quad injury that limited him in the second half of 2016, The NY Post reports. "I've really been concentrating on my legs so I can work from the ground up,'' Cespedes said earlier this week. "I am the only one who knew how much pain I was in [last season]. I was trying to mask it, trying to play through it and do as much as I could to help the team. After the games I was icing to try to be on the field as much as I could.''

Analysis:

The Mets made a $110 million commitment to Cespedes this offseason, and the 31-year-old has responded in kind by reporting early to the team's spring training complex and fully participating in the regimen that strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis has laid out for him. Cespedes has posted back-to-back campaigns with more than 30 home runs and a batting average of .280 or better, and after bouncing through four organizations in his first four MLB seasons, he's found a home in New York. A career year in 2017 could be in the offing now that his maturity level seems to have caught up to his physical tools.