Cuban outfield Yoennis Céspedes plans to return to the major leagues for the 2021 season and for this reason will hold an exhibition for interested teams on March 2, according to reports.
According to information from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the exhibition will take place in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The turf barely played the first week of the reduced 60-game season, amid the coronavirus pandemic. In that period, he hit only 0.161 (for 34-5) with two home runs and four RBIs.
The winner in successive editions of the Home Run Derby, decided prematurely not to continue with the New York Mets, then invoked reasons related to COVID-19.
Prior to the 2020 campaign, the Cuban slugger had not played since July 2018 due to operations on both heels, followed by a broken right ankle in a mysterious fall on his Florida farm, an injury that cost him to restructure the final part of 110 million dollars for four years he signed before the 2016 season with the Mets.
To avoid a lawsuit from the team, Céspedes agreed to reduce his salary in 2019 from $ 29 to $ 22.9 million and $ 11 million (proportionally) in 2020 if he made the opening list.
Cespedes will probably have to prove that he still has petrol in his tank, with a minor league contract and an invitation to training camp.
Information from Enrique Rojas was used in this report.