Metsies superior to Bronx Bookeepers?

The Mets did it.  They signed Yoenis Cespedes, the third and last free agent who could hit.  He's not the big bopper of the three, that's Chris Davis, but he bopped plenty in his two rental months that drove the Mets into the 2015 tournament.  Congratulations to the Mets for doing what the Yankees would not.

Wilpon v. Steinbrenner seems like a match geared more to the country club than the ball club.  Fred/Jeff v. Hal/Hank does not make the blood boil.  Apparently Hal's policy was to hold his breath and not sign ANY free agents.  How long Hal can maintain either of those positions remains to be seen.

Only the Toronto Blue Jays scored more runs than the Yankees in 2015, so maybe the Yankees could be excused for not going after free agents Cespedes, Davis or Justin Upton.  But they also let arch rival Boston Red Sox sign a free agent pitcher whom the Yankees also needed: David Price.  At least the Yankee policy kept them from paying way too much for Jason Heyward as the Cubbies did.

I used the ad hoc query function in baseball-reference.com to determine who was the big bopper for the last three seasons.  I had to use the very low criteria of only 36 home runs to include Heyward who hit 38.  131 batters hit at least 36 home runs.  Heyward was number 111.  Cespedes was number 15 with 83.  Upton was number 17 with 82 homers.

From 2013 to 2015, (requiring HR>=36), sorted by greatest Home Runs

Rk	Player	HR	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Chris Davis	126	2013	2015	27-29	447	1868	1607	268	405	89	1	327	216	27	580	27	1	17	12	8	5	.252	.347	.544	.891	*3/9D5H	BAL
2	Nelson Cruz	111	2013	2015	32-34	420	1789	1616	226	454	72	3	277	149	19	413	14	0	10	37	12	8	.281	.345	.535	.880	9D/7	TEX-BAL-SEA
3	Edwin Encarnacion	109	2013	2015	30-32	416	1787	1535	259	418	87	3	313	221	18	242	15	0	16	52	12	3	.272	.366	.546	.912	*3D/5H7	TOR
4	Mike Trout	104	2013	2015	21-23	473	2103	1766	328	535	110	24	298	285	30	478	29	0	23	25	60	16	.303	.404	.569	.973	*8/7D	LAA
5	Jose Bautista	103	2013	2015	32-34	426	1867	1548	291	411	80	3	290	283	15	286	17	1	18	50	21	6	.266	.381	.521	.902	*9/D38H5	TOR
6	David Ortiz	102	2013	2015	37-39	425	1816	1564	216	440	102	2	315	228	65	278	4	0	20	55	4	1	.281	.370	.545	.915	*D/3H	BOS

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/24/2016.

Too limited?  OK, let's look at OPS+.  Again, I had to use the low number of 113 to include Heyward.  55 batters were found.

12. Davis 140
27. Upton 126
35. Cespedes 118
54. Heyward 113

From 2013 to 2015, (OPS+>=113 and At least 1,500 plate appearances), sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+

Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Mike Trout	175	2103	2013	2015	21-23	473	1766	328	535	110	24	104	298	285	30	478	29	0	23	25	60	16	.303	.404	.569	.973	*8/7D	LAA
2	Miguel Cabrera	169	1848	2013	2015	30-32	426	1595	268	529	106	3	87	322	227	44	293	11	0	15	59	5	2	.332	.415	.566	.981	*35/DH	DET
3	Paul Goldschmidt	163	1884	2013	2015	25-27	428	1575	281	486	113	6	88	304	281	58	406	7	0	15	51	45	15	.309	.412	.556	.968	*3/HD	ARI
4	Joey Votto	158	1693	2013	2015	29-31	382	1346	228	404	79	5	59	176	325	36	322	12	0	10	31	18	7	.300	.438	.498	.935	*3/H	CIN
5	Andrew McCutchen	156	2007	2013	2015	26-28	460	1697	277	522	112	14	69	263	260	32	349	31	0	19	31	56	18	.308	.405	.512	.917	*8/HD	PIT
6	Bryce Harper	153	1546	2013	2015	20-22	371	1297	230	384	72	6	75	189	223	23	329	11	6	9	25	19	10	.296	.401	.534	.936	*79/8HD	WSN
7	Edwin Encarnacion	150	1787	2013	2015	30-32	416	1535	259	418	87	3	109	313	221	18	242	15	0	16	52	12	3	.272	.366	.546	.912	*3D/5H7	TOR

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/24/2016.

Either the Yankees or the Mets could have done just fine signing any of the three boppers (Davis, Upton, Cespedes) to the contracts that they signed.  Both did the right thing in ignoring Heyward.  The Mets just upstaged the Yankees.  Good for them.

It reminds me a bit of when the late George Steinbrenner signed free agent Reggie Jackson Nov. 29, 1976: $525,000 for each of five years.  Reggie was 31 in his first Yankee season.  Today many Yankee fans would not consider someone that old, not for five years.

Davis and Cespedes are 30.  Cespedes is signed for three years at an annual pay of $25 million (50 times more than Jackson).  And Cespedes can opt out after year one.  George would have appreciated this move and would have made it himself.  George was impetuous and not terribly bright but he understood star quality and that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

How much is fielding worth? Heyward? Cespedes? Saturday, January 23, 2016