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The New York Mets have obtained outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers for AA pitcher Michael Fulmer and AAA pitcher Luis Cessa.
Cespedes was signed by the Oakland Athletics in 2012 out of Cuba and he made his debut that same season, finishing as the the runner-up for the American League Rookie of the Year. He hit at least 22 home runs in his first 3 seasons and he has already swatted 18 home runs this year.
The Mets were still reeling from the Carlos Gomez debacle when they made the trade for Cespedes. Not only did they lose out on Gomez, they also lost a heartbreaking, rain-delayed game on Thursday. The addition of Cespedes should help spark the Mets as they make their stretch run. He has already hit more home runs in July than all of the right-handed hitters on the Mets, with 8 to the Mets’ 6.
Cespedes is hitting a career-high .293 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs, and 61 RBIs, which is the big bat that the Mets needed. They had already added Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to help their offense and closer Tyler Clippard to shore up their bullpen. Currently 3 games behind the National League East-leading Washington Nationals and 4.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the second Wild Card spot, the Mets will be looking to bounce back from the Gomez trade that wasn’t and the bad loss on Thursday.
Cespedes is a free agent at the end of the season.
All MLB trades are pending medical reviews.
Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.
