Amazin' season dependent on Yoenis' health
PORT ST. LUCIE — First to home and no pulled muscles. That’s a good day for the Mets.
Yoenis Cespedes’ return to the diamond was a success Sunday as he played in his first game since Aug. 25. In the first inning of the Mets’ 10-3 exhibition win over the Marlins at First Data Field, Cespedes scored from first on Todd Frazier’s double. Cespedes lined a monster three-run home run over the leftfield wall in the second inning. It was classic Cespedes, a golf shot for the slugger who has put his beloved golf game on hold. Score one for yoga. This is the start of the road back for the man named Yo. Interestingly, Cespedes was batting second and that could be his home. Once Michael Conforto (shoulder) returns he could bat leadoff, Cespedes could hit second and Jay Bruce third. Cespedes owns 2,575 at bats in the power spots, three and four, and just 173 at-bats in the two-hole. “It’s a presence, you make a mistake you are going to pay,’’ Mickey Callaway said of Cespedes. “Having a guy like that in your lineup changes the feeling, especially when you are the opposing pitching coach and pitchers.’’ Callaway said he has been “thinking hard’’ about where to bat Cespedes. “A lot of it is based on the way we break camp, and when you get a guy in the lineup, they don’t want to change, a guy like Ces, so we got to know that Conforto is coming back at some point as well,” Callaway said. “You want to hit all your best hitters at the top of the lineup. I’ve seen the numbers. The numbers make sense to me. The last couple of MVPs, all the guys getting MVP votes are batting second.’’
The Mets are already going through injury woes, but no position player matters as much as Cespedes.
“He’s the man,’’ Jose Reyes told The Post. “We need him every day.’’ No Cespedes. No chance. Cespedes did not make himself available to the media Sunday. A Mets official said Ces- pedes was asked by five different team officials, but they combined to go 0-for-5.
Reporters could not ask Cespedes directly because the Mets do not allow media in the clubhouse during spring-training games as starters check out, unlike other teams.
No big deal. It’s Cespedes’ world, the Mets just sign the checks.
This is the first time Frazier has played on the same team as Cespedes and he said he is impressed. They did compete in the 2014 Home Run Derby.
“He’s already reminded me four times that he beat me,’’ Frazier said of that battle Cespedes won at Target Field in Minneapolis, winning the derby in back-to-back years. “He’s fun to be around.’’
That is the key, keeping Cespedes around.
In 2017, Cespedes had just 291 at-bats, by far the lowest total of his career. Cespedes hit 17 home runs as he suffered through a terrible season because of two leg injuries that began because of his muscle-bound workout regimen.
If the Mets don’t have the needed firepower even if their pitchers are healthy they will not have enough offense to flourish. The Mets re-worked their entire conditioning program, hiring Jim Cavallini as director of performance and sports science as part of Project Cespedes.
The injuries have already started with Dominic Smith out with a quad injury, Juan Lagares a hamstring injury, Tim Tebow a sprained ankle and Bruce getting over plantar fasciitis, but Cespedes came through the day unscathed.
It all comes down to Cespedes staying healthy.
Asdrubal Cabrera, who is close friends with Cespedes, and lockers next to him, knows the importance of keeping Cespedes healthy.
“We have a good team, if we stay healthy we can be in the playoffs this year,’’ Cabrera said.
Only if Cespedes is in that lineup, no matter where he bats.