Report: Mets' Yoenis Cespedes Injured Ankle in 2019 During Wild Boar Incident

The mystery surrounding the ankle injury that forced Yoenis Cespedes to miss the 2019 season and gave the Mets grounds to slash his contract appears to finally have an answer. 

Joel Sherman, Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post reported Cespedes did, indeed, fracture his ankle stepping into a hole on his Florida ranch, but it was due to him trying to evade a wild boar that came onto his property. 

Cespedes could lose up to $30 million after restructuring his contract in December. The 34-year-old has played in just 119 total games for the Mets over the past three seasons. 

According to Sherman, Davidoff and Puma, Cespedes immediately told the team about the injury, and Mets officials visited his property the next day to confirm the outfielder's version of events. Representatives from both the Commissioner's Office and Players Association reportedly later visited the ranch and came away with the same conclusion. 

Cespedes' contract included specific language that made dangerous activities a violation of his terms with the Mets, allowing the team to recover some of the $110 million they agreed to give the Cuban outfielder in 2017.

Encountering the wild boar allowed the Mets to trigger that clause and restructure his contract. He's now slated to earn a base salary of $6 million instead of $29.5 million, but that will raise to $11 million once he returns to the active roster. Cespedes is also able to reach a number of incentive goals to earn some of his money back.

On that front, the team will have to assess his health once spring training opens. There may be some interest in trying to trade him on New York's part if he's indeed able to play. 

Cespedes' camp declined to comment to the Post, however, there's little reason to believe the story is finished here. 

It all just adds up to another head-scratching chapter for the Mets under Fred Wilpon's ownership.