New York Mets re-sign Yoenis Cespedes

The New York Mets have won the bidding war for free-agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes agreed to a deal to stay with the Mets Friday night.

According to ESPN, the deal is for three years and $75 million, including $27.5 million for the first year. The deal is pending a physical. Cespedes can opt out of the deal after the first year. The deal’s average annual value of $25 million ties Cespedes with Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Hamilton for the highest average annual value ever for an outfielder. Cespedes had interest from the Washington National, the New York Yankees, and the Baltimore Orioles. The Nationals had reportedly made an offer to Cespedes.

"He works very hard to be a good teammate," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Cespedes. "Even though he doesn't speak a lot of English, he works very, very hard at it. His pregame routine is off the charts ... off the charts. He has things that he does right before a game in the batting cage. ... When he walks onto that field, he's legit. I've been around a lot of great players. I've seen a lot of great players. This guy, just strictly tools, the five tools, he's got them all."

Cespedes, who is from Cuba, debuted in the majors in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics traded him to the Boston Red Sox in 2014, and the Red Sox traded him to the Detroit Tigers last offseason. The Mets acquired Cespedes in a trade with the Tigers last year. He hit .291/.328/.542 with 35 homeruns and 105 RBIs last year, according to Fox Sports. After he was traded to the Mets he hit .287/.337/.604 with 17 homeruns and 44 RBIs. Cespedes is a .271/.319/.486 hitter with 106 homeruns and 367 RBIs in his four years in the majors.

Cespedes joins Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Alejandro De Aza, and Juan Lagares as Mets outfielders who are signed for 2016.

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