In Sandy we trust! Sandy Alderson that sly dog has done it again. He convinced Yoenis Cespedes to accept a four year deal at an incredibly high annual average value of 27.5 million dollars a season and just like that the Mets get their best player back. Sandy basically said the Mets (The Wilpons) weren’t willing to go to five years for Yo, but he was still able to convince Cespedes to return on the Mets’ terms for the second year in a row.

Cespedes The Merciful once again shows tolerance by remaining in Queens despite the Mets refusal to extend him a five year deal. Yo’s tender-hearted nature and love for the Flushing Faithful has once again inspired him to forgo an offseason bidding war for his services.

I genuinely believe if Yo wanted to go to the highest bidder, he would have found a longer more lucrative contract elsewhere. Are teams genuinely scared off by his age and his golfing, smoking, and sports car driving nature? Apparently so. Do I care? Hell no. The most valuable player on the team will be back next year. That’s all that matters.

All the credit in the world goes to Sandy Alderson for thoroughly taking advantage of the one thing that has remained a constant since we traded for Yo in 2015. Yoenis Cespedes wants to be a New York Met. It’s really that simple. The man displays a unique loyalty to the ball club in Flushing which totally separates him from the majority of professional athletes.

Obviously a four year deal with the second highest AAV for a position player and a full no trade clause is extremely appealing. But Yo could still go through the process of pitting teams against each other and trying to squeeze every last cent out of some organization. But he doesn’t do that. Instead he shows the Wilpon-led Mets compassion.

All that being said, this offseason can be summarized as follows:

• Neil Walker and Yoenis Cespedes (the two most valuable hitters from our 2016 team) return. That’s good.
• Eric Campbell heads to Japan. That’s great.
• Bartolo Colon (our most durable starting pitcher) goes to a division rival. That’s bad.

In other words, there is a lot of work to be done. There’s a bullpen and bench to be bolstered. The rotation could use some insurance. A new catcher would be nice. Let’s hope this uplifting Cespedes signing is the first domino to fall in what will continue to be a big offseason for Sandy. Thank the gods for Yo. He makes this team go. His return means the 2017 Mets have a chance to win the World Series. The window remains open, and I for one couldn’t be happier.