The New York Mets and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes agreed to an amended contract that significantly reduces his 2020 salary from its original value of $29.5 million, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Cespedes' guaranteed money will be less than $10 million next season but he can make roughly $20 million after bonuses, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who adds that the player also lost a piece of his 2019 salary.
"The club has reached an agreement with Yoenis Cespedes to amend and restructure his contract," the team confirmed in a statement Friday obtained by ESPN. "Cespedes remains under contract with the Mets through the 2020 season."
The restructured pact is reportedly the result of a grievance the Mets filed after investigating the injury Cespedes suffered on his ranch in May, a source told Sherman. Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, Cespedes, and the Mets were all involved in the resolution, Sherman adds.
While rehabbing a pair of heel injuries, Cespedes suffered multiple right ankle fractures in an accident on his ranch and told the Mets that he injured himself by stepping into a hole. He then underwent season-ending surgery and ultimately didn't play a single game in 2019.
The club stopped paying Cespedes after investigating the ranch injury and threatened to withhold the 34-year-old's salary in 2020 as well before reaching a settlement, Passan reports.
The two-time All-Star signed a four-year, $110-million contract with New York in November 2016.
Current Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was the agent who negotiated Cespedes' deal with the Mets.