It was the perfect time, on the night of the most important Subway Series since, oh, October of 2000, to see news about Yoenis Cespedes’ free agency. Because the real question here is simple: Is he this era’s Mike Piazza?
Cespedes has been the most impactful in-season acquisition in team history. He hasn’t matched Piazza’s .348/.417/.607 and 23 homers in 1998, after arriving from Los Angeles via Miami on May 22.
But Cespedes is leading a previously dormant team into the playoffs, while hitting .289/.338/.647, with 17 homers, since the Mets snatched him from Detroit in the minutes before the July 31 trade deadline.