Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

Mets Star Yoenis Cespedes Says He Won't Talk to the Media All Season

Rob Goldberg

New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes doesn't plan to speak to the media this season.

"Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year," he said at his locker Monday before walking away from reporters, per Tim Britton of The Athletic.

Cespedes missed the entire 2019 season after suffering multiple ankle fractures at his personal ranch. It was later reported the injury came during an incident with a wild boar, which caused him to step into a trap, according to Joel Sherman, Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post.

As a result, his contract was amended from a salary of $29.5 million in 2020 to just $6 million guaranteed, via Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

The 34-year-old hasn't spoken publicly about the incident, while Monday's brief interaction was his first time speaking to team reporters at all since last February, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.

The latest collective bargaining agreement states that "it is the player's responsibility to cooperate" with the media for "reasonable periods," via Britton.

His distaste for the media was also seen in a hype video posted to Twitter earlier this month, which featured voiceovers of various negative comments during the offseason:

Cespedes had an impressive start to his Mets career, initially joining the team in a midseason trade from the Detroit Tigers in 2015. He helped guide the squad to the World Series that postseason, gaining MVP votes in just two months of action.

The outfielder followed that up with an All-Star appearance in 2016, but injuries have derailed his career while limiting him to just 109 total games in the past three years.

Though he's trying to bounce back in 2020 in the final year under his current contract, the media seemingly won't hear much from him this season.

   

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