Yoenis Cespedes off to solid start in comeback attempt

It would be easy to forget that Yeonis Cespedes is still considered an active player.

After all, he has appeared in just eight games since the end of the 2018 season. Injuries, the pandemic, and his decision to abruptly walk away from the Mets without warning did not exactly do him any favors. He had completely disappeared for the past two seasons, vanishing off into the sunset.

Former Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes attempting comeback

But maybe Cespedes is not done with baseball after all. The former Oakland A’s outfielder is attempting a comeback, playing with the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League as he looks to return to the game.

The odds would seemingly be stacked against him. Cespedes recently turned 37 years old and has not appeared in over 80 games since 2017. It is difficult to imagine that many teams would be lined up to take on an older, injury prone player with a questionable attitude such as Cespedes.

But someone apparently forgot to tell Cespedes that he is done. He has already belted two doubles and a homer in his 20 plate appearances, striking out just three times. It is a very small sample size, but after all of this time off, Cespedes has already performed better than anyone could have imagined.

It remains to be seen if he can continue this strong start. More major league caliber players are going to start trickling into the league as the season progresses, especially come November and December. Once that happens, his hot start could be a distant memory.

And yet, it is possible that does not happen. Maybe Cespedes can turn back the clock, those years away from the game allowing him to be healthy once again. And maybe, just maybe, he performs well enough in the Dominican that he can get another chance somewhere.

Former Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is playing in the Dominican Winter League. Maybe he can make his comeback attempt a reality.