Cespedes, Mets amend contract reportedly due to ranch injury
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.