#Yoenis Cespedes opting out of rest of Mets’ 2020 season

Yoenis Cespedes has opted out of the rest of the 2020 MLB season, ending a hectic stretch Sunday in which the Mets superstar’s whereabouts were unknown.

Cespedes, 34, did not show up for the Mets’ 4-0 loss in Atlanta and the team initially wasn’t sure of the slugger’s status when they couldn’t get in touch with him before the game.

“He’s healthy and he’s safe,” GM Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters. “He’s decided to opt out of the remainder of the season for COVID-related reasons.”

It turns out Cespedes packed up his belongings and left the team’s hotel without informing the team, according to Van Wagenen, though it is unclear where Cespedes is as of late Sunday afternoon. Cespedes’ agent informed the Mets mid-game that he was opting out.

Van Wagenen said he did not have any indication previously that Cespedes was considering opting out. Several players opted out before the season because of coronavirus-related concerns, and others have followed since two teams — the Marlins and Cardinals — have had their seasons paused due to coronavirus outbreaks.

“It was surprising, without question,” Van Wagenen told reporters.

Cespedes missed all of last season and the majority of the 2018 campaign because of a series of injuries, including surgery on his heels and a subsequent ankle fracture suffered during an incident with a wild boar on his ranch.

There was optimism that Cespedes, despite all the time he missed, would provide a boost to what appeared to be a formidable Mets lineup during the abbreviated 60-game season.

But the former playoff hero, who led the Mets to a surprise World Series appearance in 2015, mostly struggled, hitting two home runs in eight games.