On July 20, 2018, Yoenis Cespedes had not faced Major League pitching in over two months. In fact, he had all of 12 plate appearances, all of which were below the Triple-A level.

More than that, Cespedes needed double heel surgery. Despite all that was wrong and how rusty he was, the Mets activated him for the sole purpose of being a DH in an Interleague Game against the New York Yankees. Watching him that day, you’d have no idea how badly injured he was, or that he had not played in nearly two months.

In that game, Cespedes was 2-for-4 with two runs, a walk, a homer, and an RBI. This should serve as a reminder of what Cespedes can do when he steps foot on the baseball field . . . . even when he’s not healthy.

We know he missed all of 2019 after double heel surgery and a broken ankle stemming from a wild boar attack. We know about that drama and the rust. There’s the ramp up to Spring Training and the COVID19 necessitated shut down of baseball. These are all factors why anyone could struggle.

However, this is Cespedes. We’ve seen him hit when no one else couldn’t physically stepped foot on the field. He’s a special player who can be a difference maker. No one can tell you whether he’s going to be in good enough shape, whether there’s too much rust, or just how much this shutdown has impacted him.

What we can say is we’ve seen Cespedes do this before, and he’s just about as exciting a player as there is in baseball. With reports he’s ready to play, it’s time to get excited to see Cespedes play baseball again.