Now the real fun begins for the Mets and their fans. Get ready for more moves now that Cespedes Cornerstone is in place, the rock from which Sandy Alderson can build a contender for years to come.
The Mets made it official Wednesday, parading out Yoenis Cespedes with owner Fred Wilpon leading the cheers as Cespedes triumphantly walked into the press conference at Citi Field after having signed his massive four-year, $110 million deal with a full no-trade clause.
After years of being a baseball vagabond, Cespedes has the baseball home he so desired. With such stability in left field, there will be more change in the outfield as the winter meetings are set to begin.
Alderson has “clarity’’ to make the deals he needs to make, and you can be sure that means a veteran outfielder — either Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson — will be traded for what’s best for the team over the next four years.
Don’t be shocked if both outfielders are dealt if the right trades come along.
“It’s a possibility,’’ one Mets decision-maker told The Post.
Granderson is getting more play on the trade front right now but that could change; it all comes down to which player brings back the best value.
Said one NL scout who follows the Mets on a regular basis: “I would trade Bruce because Granderson has proven he can play in New York. Bruce has not.’’
That makes sense.
I asked Alderson how confident he is of making a deal for at least one of his outfielders, and he said, “We’re going to go to the winter meetings and see what’s there. We’ve come a long way, right, from no outfield to an overcrowded one, but that’s a nicer problem to have and we will deal with it next week in some way. … We’re always looking for value.’’
There’s also Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo in the Mets outfield. And if David Wright makes a comeback — a monster if — you can be sure Terry Collins will work Jose Reyes into the outfield as well, if Reyes can handle such a move.
Anything is possible now because the big dog, Cespedes, is in place. Now it’s about getting another big arm for the bullpen.
If the Mets’ offense can afford to deal Bruce and Granderson, that would be fascinating. One of them certainly will be traded.
Adding the no-trade clause was key for Cespedes, a most valuable addition made by Cespedes’ representatives Brodie Van Wagenen and Kyle Thousand.
Alderson, asked if he tried to put a clause in the contract that there would be no golf on game days, joked, “There is no free club membership in the contract, I know that.’’
The bottom line is the Mets got this monumental signing done early “and that’s nice,’’ COO Jeff Wilpon told The Post, “because it gives you all the flexibility to sit back and let Sandy entertain the other offers. I can’t tell you what offer is going to be best, I can’t tell you who we might move or not move but the fact is he can sit back and take those offers and do this in somewhat of a methodical way.’’
That is when Alderson is at his best.
“If anybody looks at our team right now I’d say with the exception of a bench spot or two, our position players look pretty solid,’’ Alderson said. “The starting pitching looks pretty good and there are some questions in the bullpen we are going to have to answer.
“When you get to a certain point and your team is on the brink you have to take some risks financially and performance wise,’’ he said of handing out a four-year deal to Cespedes. “This was something we felt we could live with and in fact we needed to do.’’
Now there is something else the Mets must do: Trade Bruce or Granderson or maybe both if the deals give the Mets value for the next four years of the Cespedes Era.