Yoenis Cespedes Breaks Media Silence to Discuss Mets' 2020 Opening Day

After multiple ankle fractures caused him to miss the entire 2019 season, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes expects to be ready for Opening Day.

"If I continue progressing the way that I am, yes," Cespedes said about playing the March 26 game against the Washington Nationals, via ESPN.

The 34-year-old had originally said he wasn't going to speak to media this season but clarified Sunday that he was simply trying to look forward.

"I'm not going to speak about the past," Cespedes told reporters. "I committed an error and I paid the price for it, but today I'll be talking about the present and the future."

The player's past apparently includes last year's incident at his ranch, where an interaction with a wild boar caused him to step into one of his own traps, according to Joel Sherman, Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post.

Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the off-field accident caused his salary to be amended from $29.5 in 2020 to just $6 million guaranteed. His base salary would jump to $11 million if he doesn't start the season on the injured list, giving him additional motivation to work his way back.

The two-time All-Star has only appeared in 109 games since signing a four-year, $80.42 million deal ahead of the 2017 season, including just 38 games in the past two years.

Though he's still less than 100 percent, he's looked like himself in the batter's box this spring:

However, he caused some animosity when he said he wasn't planning to speak to the media.

"Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year," Cespedes said in a brief interaction last Monday. About a week later, the talented player has apparently decided to break his silence with an update about his health.