Detroit Tigers Rumors: Mets interested in Yoenis Cespedes

FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal reports the New York Mets are talking to the Detroit Tigers about left fielder Yoenis Cespedes.

The Mets have been connected with Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce, but this would indicate that the Reds and Mets aren’t close to a deal. New York desperately wants to add another hitter to their weak lineup. The Mets acquired third baseman Juan Uribe last week, but that’s not enough as New York has scored the fewest runs in the National League.

But with a strong pitching staff, the Mets are three games back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East. New York is also 4.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the second NL Wild Card spot.

Cespedes would certainly give the Mets more offense. He is slashing .293/.323/.506 with 18 home runs and 61 RBI this season. He hit a two-run homer in the, 9-8, victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

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The left fielder, who is a free agent after this season, has expressed interest in re-signing with Detroit, but because of a weird clause in his contract, the Tigers have a better chance of re-signing him if they trade him away.

According to Rosenthal, when Cespedes signed his four-year, $36 million contract with the Oakland Athletics in Feb. 2012, his agent negotiated a clause in the deal that prevents a team from extending a qualifying offer. Therefore, his team will only have a five-day window after the World Series to re-sign him.

If no deal is complete five days after the World Series concludes, Cespedes will not be able to re-sign with that current team until May 15.

If the Tigers trade Cespedes, they won’t be able to negotiate with the left fielder for the rest of the season, but after the five-day window, Detroit will be able to talk to Cespedes like every other team.

It sounds very counter-intuitive, but if General Manager Dave Dombrowki wants to keep Cespedes, he might have to trade him.

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