From the looks of things, the Mets will likely not resign outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a new deal.
Assistant General manager John Ricco explained to media members, at the MLB winter meetings, that signing Cespedes would be a little out of their price range.
“It’s unlikely right now that he ends up a Met. I think that’s fair to say. I think we will end up meeting with his agent. Right now, I still think he’s looking at a deal that would be north of what we would consider.”
Ricco, who is filling in for the Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson as he deals with his recent cancer diagnosis, also discussed other offseason moves in the fold for the Mets.
Ricco said the Mets “haven’t been actively shopping” Jon Niese but they’re open to any ideas for improving the roster beyond dealing any of their four top pitchers (Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz). If Niese was traded, Ricco said that Rafael Montero or Sean Gilmartin could step into the rotation until Zack Wheeler made his projected midseason return from Tommy John surgery.
