Cespedes Put Golf Before the Mets

Yesterday, Yoenis Cespedes began his day with a round of golf with Kevin Millar . . . 

. . . and he ended the day on the disabled list. 

By all reports, Cespedes has been playing golf each and every day since he’s been injured. 

Cespedes’ injury was painful enough to prevent him from flying out and participating in the All Star Game. It was so bad he told the Mets he could no longer play center field. It was so painful he would miss games. Overall, his quad injury would affect his ability to play baseball, but he would not let it interfere with him playing golf each and every day. 

Did the Mets botch this?  Sure, they always mishandle injuries. It’s why they talked Steven Matz out of getting surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow. They also talked Juan Lagares out of surgery initially. The solution for Matt Harvey was him roughing it out without getting a full examination. They wouldn’t put a hobbled Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera immediately on the disabled list. There are more injuries they’ve mismanaged both this year and in the entire Ray Ramirez Error, sorry Era. 

The Cespedes situation is yet another example of the Mets mismanaging injuries. They could’ve out him on the disabled list at the All Star Break to minimize the amount of games he would miss. They could’ve told him not to play golf. 

However, they shouldn’t have to tell a 30 year old man making $27.5 million to rest his legs so he could return to the field as soon as possible. They shouldn’t have to tell him not to let down his teammates in the middle of a pennant race so he could hang out with Kevin Millar on the golf course. No, this is something Cespedes should just no. He either didn’t know, or he knew it and didn’t care.  

Cespedes showed a complete lack of self awareness saying he needed to stop playing for 10 days to get healthy:

It wasn’t clear from that statement if he meant golf or baseball. Given his actions over the past month, he probably meant baseball. 

Yes, the Mets mismanaged this injury like they mismanage all of their injuries. However, Cespedes prioritized his golf game over the game he is paid to play. Hopefully, Cespedes will refrain from playing golf these next 15 days to let him get back on the field. 

After a month of golf and his sporadic play, it’s difficult to be optimistic that Cespedes will now treat this injury seriously and put baseball first. 

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