What’s banned in a Mets contract?
On a characteristically chaotic day — even a win didn’t make it that much better — the Mets did one thing right Monday:
They offered few facts and even fewer opinions on Yoenis Cespedes’ shocking injury at his Port St. Lucie, Fla., ranch. Clearly, they were leaving their options open to see if an avenue existed to get back at least some of the money they owe him.
We don’t know everything the Mets know about what transpired, and the Mets almost certainly don’t know everything that Cespedes knows. And that in itself is telling, for in the two most memorable recent cases of a team getting some money back — the Yankees with Aaron Boone in 2004 and the Mets with Francisco Rodriguez — we knew from the moment the injuries became public that the clubs had strong cases. Cespedes’ injury is public, and at the moment, there is no known indication the Mets have a chance here. Nor have the Mets initiated any process to reclaim payments from Cespedes.
What would actually give the Mets leverage in prevailing over Cespedes? It’s impossible to know the precise answer without seeing the four-year, $110 million contract that Cespedes signed with the Mets during the 2016-17 offseason. However, a copy of another Mets contract signed during the past decade — given to The Post on the condition of anonymity — provides at least some guidance.
Here are the activities the Mets prohibited in this contract:
Football, basketball, softball, volleyball, handball, paddleball, racquetball, squash, soccer, field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, polo, lacrosse, rugby, fencing, skydiving, bungee jumping, hunting, gliding or hang gliding, horse racing, boxing, wrestling, karate, judo, jujitsu or any martial art, in-line or other roller skating, ice skating, water or snow skiing, snowmobiling, bobsledding, spelunking, mountain climbing, jai-alai, bicycle racing, motorboat or auto racing, motorcycling, white water canoeing, woodchopping, rodeo, surfing, piloting, learning to operate or serving as a crew member of an aircraft, parachuting, participation in the “Superteams” or “Superstars” activities or other television or motion picture athletic competitions, organized or competitive baseball, travel to any country subject to a Travel Warning issued by the U.S. State Department, any medical or surgical procedure (except as necessary due to a medical emergency that renders prior written approval impossible), fights, brawls or other violent acts off of the playing field (e.g., wrestling, kicking or punching persons or objects) or any acts, activities, or sports involving a substantial risk of personal injury.
Did Cespedes do something on that list, and is that activity included on his list? Those are the two key questions to answer.