Yoenis Cespedes will officially become a free agent this weekend, and even though he says he'd like to stay with the Mets, that probably won't end up happening.
The National League champions are unlikely to retain the outfielder for 2016, ESPN.com reported Monday, despite his warm feelings about the World Series run.
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"It's been an incredible experience," he said. "A very special experience for me."
The 30-year-old has played for four teams since July 2014, when Oakland traded him to Boston at the deadline. The Red Sox shipped him to Detroit last December, and the Tigers moved him to the Mets at this year's July 31 deadline.
That list of transactions is not to say that the strong-armed, power-hitting outfielder isn't in demand; in fact, it's comparable to Cliff Lee's travels in 2009 and 2010 when he was one of baseball's most sought-after pitchers.
So there will be plenty of suitors out there for Cespedes, but the Mets apparently don't believe making the big-money, multi-year commitment that will be necessary to land him will be the wisest use of their resources this winter. His impact in Queens was undeniable, though, as he posted a .942 OPS and hit 17 home runs in 57 regular-season games after coming over from Detroit. His effectiveness waned with each postseason round as he battled a shoulder problem, but who knows where the Mets would have been without him.
Whatever happens going forward, Cespedes figures to have at least a month of down time before the decision-making begins in earnest. MLB's winter meetings, the traditional hub of offseason activity, are Dec. 7-10, and he expects to have a far better idea then about 2016 than he does now.
"It's too early for that," he told ESPN. "My agent told me that we'll see what's going on around December or so. It's just too early."
