Cespedes: 'I could spend the rest of my career' with Mets

Yoenis Cespedes has been everywhere in the last two years.

The Cuban slugger was traded three times in the span of a year - twice on deadline day - going from Oakland to Boston to Detroit, and finally to the Mets.

Now that the carousel has stopped in Queens, Cespedes is comfortable and happy. And he doesn't want to move again.

"It feels as if I've been playing here a very long time," he told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com Thursday. "And I could spend the rest of my career with this team,"

Indeed it seems as though Cespedes and the Mets were a match made in heaven. The 30-year-old exploded onto the New York scene last summer, slashing .287/.337/.604 with 17 home runs in just 57 games while leading the Mets' surprising run to the World Series, and even garnered a few NL MVP votes.

After re-signing in the winter, he's simply picked up where he left off.

Cespedes leads NL hitters in home runs (15), slugging percentage (.606), OPS+ (179), and RBIs (36), also showing an improved batting eye - his 17 walks are almost double his total through this time last year.

As his numbers continue to climb, however, that pesky opt-out clause beckons. Cespedes can opt out of his $75-million deal this winter if he wants to parlay this monster year into a bigger contract. The Mets, though, appear optimistic that he won't bolt.

"Yeah, we're paying him a lot of money - don't mistake that," manager Terry Collins said. "But he wants to play in New York City and that says a lot, because a lot of guys would shy away from that challenge. He wants to be here and knows what he provides in the middle of that lineup, and we need it. He's a star."

At least for the time being, Cespedes doesn't sound like he's calling the movers.

"It's like I said from when I got here last year, it feels very much at home here," he said.