Yoenis Cespedes Injury Update: New York Mets Slugger Out Of Game 5 After Fouling Ball Off Knee
Yoenis Cespedes left Game 5 of the World Series after fouling a ball off his knee, and his return for the rest of the series is now in question.
Cespedes fouled a ball off his leg in the bottom of the sixth inning and went down hard to the ground in obvious pain. Cespedes actually stayed in the game for the remainder of his at-bat, popping up to the infield with no outs and the bases loaded. But after the at-bat he went back into the clubhouse and was replaced by Juan Lagares.
Yoenis Cespedes has left the game and is replaced by Juan Lagares. pic.twitter.com/qdWEappUlm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 2, 2015
The initial update on Yoenis Cespedes’ injury was a bit of a relief for the Mets. The Fox broadcast noted that he suffered a bruise, not a fracture.
Bruise, not fracture, for Yoenis Cespedes, according to official broadcast.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) November 2, 2015
As Sports Illustrated noted, Cespedes has already been dealing with a sore shoulder, one that forced him to leave the clinching Game 4 of the NLCS. Some blamed the injury on Cespedes’ routine of hitting the golf course during the offseason, but the Mets said that did not contribute to the soreness and Cespedes said it was actually an important part of his routine.
Cespedes said after the game that he would definitely be back for the World Series.
“I’ll be ready by Sunday,” Cespedes said through an interpreter, via ESPN. “If not, I’ll chop it off and put a new one on.”
Cespedes also suffered a scary looking injury near the conclusion of the season. With home field advantage for the NLDS still at play in the final week of the year, Cespedes was hit in the hand by a pitch.
It’s not yet clear the severity of the injury to Yoenis Cespedes, but it could be a costly one to the New York Mets. The Cuban-born player came to the Mets at the trade deadline and jump started what was at that point an anemic offense. Though he has struggled through the playoffs and the World Series, Cespedes still represented the biggest offensive threat for the Mets.
He’s tough. @ynscspds fouls one off his knee and gets back in the box. #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/0MXTKYhLI9
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 2, 2015
But if the Mets were to climb out of the 3-1 hole against the Kansas City Royals, it will likely take a fantastic performance from the team’s pitchers. The Mets would have aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in Games 6 and 7, and would need both to turn in great games to keep the Mets in the series.
Whatever happens, there is a strong chance that the injury could be the end of Yoenis Cespedes’ career with the New York Mets. He is set to become a free agent after the season ends, and originally had a clause that locked out whatever team he might be traded to from negotiating after a small window at the end of the season. Cespedes ended up waiving that to allow the Mets to negotiate for a potential new contract, but it seems likely that Cespedes will test the market where he could command a huge deal.
With big contracts on the horizon for the young aces on the Mets pitching staff, it seems to be an outside possibility that the Mets would be willing to re-up on a huge deal for Cespedes.
If the Mets should continue to play on, it’s not clear if they will have their hard-hitting center fielder. Yoenis Cespedes is officially listed as day-to-day with an injury to his left knee.
[Picture by Kevin E. Cox /Getty Images]
