New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes did not show up to the ballpark for Sunday afternoon's game against the Atlanta Braves.
After a few hours of confusion, news broke that Cespedes had decided to opt out of the season:
Yoenis Cespedes, who was earning $2.2 million this year, has left the #Mets and is now opting out
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 2, 2020
The #Mets figured that was the reason since Cespedes never checked out of the hotel, but GM Brodie Van Wagenen makes it official.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 2, 2020
When Yoenis Cespedes didn't show up today, the Mets sent security to his room. They found it empty. He had taken his belongings, just up and left, and through his agent informed the team mid-game that he was opting out, according to Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2020
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com initially reported the Mets had been unsuccessful in their attempts to reach out to Cespedes, and they were unaware of his whereabouts:
BREAKING: Yoenis Céspedes did not show up to the ballpark today, nor give the Mets any explanation why.
In a statement, the Mets say their attempts to contact him "have been unsuccessful."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 2, 2020
The strangeness of the 2020 MLB season has been on full display, and Cespedes basically going AWOL is among the oddities baseball fans have seen thus far.
In fact, Cespedes' entire Mets tenure has been odd in nature.
The Mets acquired Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers in 2015, and he proceeded to hit 17 homers in 57 games as New York stampeded to the World Series. Cespedes was then named to the National League All-Star team in 2016, when he slashed .280/.354/.530 with 31 homers.
But the past few years have not been nearly as successful. Cespedes played a combined 129 games between 2017 and 2018. He then missed the entirety of the 2019 campaign due to an apparent injury he sustained at his Port St. Lucie ranch, which in turn led to his 2020 contract being restructured.
However, Cespedes appeared healthy during the team's summer camp, and it seemed he would see the lion's share of the Mets' at-bats in the designated hitter slot when not playing in the outfield.
The 34-year-old appeared in eight of New York's first nine games, though he struggled to get back up to speed. Cespedes hit a pair of homers, but he slashed just .161/.235/.387 with 15 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances.
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