In the Bergen County Record, Bob Klapisch had this gem regarding whether or not Yoenis Cespedes will exercise his opt out clause after the season:

When asked by The Record’s Matt Ehalt if he intended to honor all three years of his current $75 million contract, without opting out, Cespedes flatly said, “Yes.”

In what has been a trying year for the Mets and Mets fans, this is a brief respite that should give each and every Mets fan reason for joy.  However, it is hard to believe Cespedes.

As it stands now, Cespedes stands to be the top free agent on the market this offseason.  If he opts-in, he could potentially be losing $100 million, possibly more.  There should be several big market teams who want more offense that could offer Cespedes more money than the Mets are able or are willing to offer him.

Remember, Cespedes is a man who missed out on a chance of a lifetime.  When Cespedes left Cuba, he left behind his mother, his son, and many more friends and relatives.  Instead of going back to Cuba to see his loved ones, he stayed in the United States because he was “a free agent seeking a huge multiyear deal and essentially [had] to attend to business.”  (New York Times).  Quite possibly, Cespedes missed his last chance to ever see his mother and son again because getting a big multiyear deal was that important to him.  This is not to be critical to Cespedes.  Rather, it is to show how important the financial security, and yes, being in the right place is to him.

Remember, it’s easy to say you’re staying when it is August and your team is in the thick of the Wild Card chase.  It is another thing all together when it’s just you and your agent, and you have a life altering decision to be made.  An off-hand comment is not the same thing as purposefully walking away from at least $100 million. Even if he were so inclined. His agent wouldn’t let him. It’s probably why within 24 hours the story changed. 
Now, when asked if he made up his mind about staying with the Mets past this season, Cespedes said, “Nope. My focus is just to play baseball and help the team win, hopefully make it to the playoffs. I let my agents worry about all that.”  (New York Post). 

Cespedes would also say he wants to remain a Met for the reason of his career. I believe Cespedes when he says that. He has seemingly found a home with the Mets. He seems to enjoy it here. He has become a much better player with the team. These are all terrific and very valid reasons why he wants to stay. 

However, there are going to be over $100 million reasons that will help him make his decision where he winds up next year and the next few years past that. 

He was really focused on that deal last offseason. It meant enough for him to miss seeing his loved ones. It will be just as, if not more important, this offseason. 

He’s going to opt out.