Last year, with the A’s in a pennant race, they included Yoenis Cespedes in a trade for Jon Lester. Lester was supposed to be the piece that put the A’s over the top. Lester would give up six runs en route to a loss in the Wild Card Game to the Royals. Lester, Cespedes, and the A’s would be sitting home watching the Royals came within a run of winning the World Series. 

After a trade between the Red Sox and the Tigers, Cespedes appeared to have another shot at a playoff run. When Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera suffered long term injuries, the Tigers chances of competing were  gone. It appeared Cespedes was going to be on the outside looking in again. It certainly looked like the Mets weren’t going to need an outfielder. That was until Carlos Gomez failed his physical. 

The Mets then made a desperate trade to bring on Cespedes. He’s been phenomenal. He’s hitting .312/.357/.675. Not to use a tired metaphor, but those are video game numbers. It’s the reason for the misguided MVP talk. He’s making up for lost time. He’s showing the A’s they made a mistake letting him go. 

There is something to be said for the guy who’s been over looked, the guy who’s chance was taken away from him, the guy who has something to prove. That guy was Cespedes. He’s making the most of the opportunity he thought he would have last year. 

Luckily, the Mets are the beneficiaries of Cespedes finally getting his chance.