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Report: Yoenis Cespedes fractured ankle during incident with wild boar

The New York Mets and Yoenis Cespedes recently agreed to a restructured contract stemming from a fractured ankle the veteran outfielder suffered on his Florida ranch. Details surrounding how that injury actually occurred had been limited to Cespedes took a “violent fall,” but the events leading up to the fall had remained a mystery.

Until now.

According to a New York Post report, Cespedes was injured following a run-in with a wild boar.

The Post has learned all involved parties agreed that Cespedes was injured on the ranch stepping into a hole after an interaction with a wild boar.

According to multiple people who were informed of the incident, Cespedes has traps on his ranch for a variety of reasons, including to keep boars away from people. But one boar was removed from a trap — perhaps by Cespedes — and either charged toward Cespedes or startled him, causing Cespedes to step into a hole. Cespedes suffered the fractured ankle at a time when he was recovering from surgery to both heels that already was jeopardizing his playing status in 2019. The ankle fracture guaranteed that he would not take an at-bat last season.

This is not the outcome we were expecting.

Given the Mets’ odd luck with injuries though, perhaps we shouldn’t be too terribly surprised.

Yoenis Cespedes' 2019 season reportedly ended after a run-in with a wild boar resulted in a fractured ankle. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
Yoenis Cespedes' 2019 season reportedly ended after a run-in with a wild boar resulted in a fractured ankle. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

As the report notes, the injury happened in May while Cespedes was still recovering from offseason heel surgery. Since then, the incident has proven to be costly. The amended contract reduced Cespedes’ base salary $29.5 to $6 million for the 2020 season. That’s a potential savings of $23.5 million if the veteran outfielder doesn’t return to full health.

A restructuring of Cespedes’ deal was negotiated after New York filed a grievance and withheld part of his 2019 salary.

The New York Post report says it’s not clear if Cespedes and the Mets agreed to specific language that would make potentially dangerous activities on his ranch a violation of his contract. Though it’s certain that a run-in with a wild boar would fall into the category if such a provision exists.

At this point, we’re sure the Mets and Cespedes will be eager to put this incident behind them. On the plus side, the Mets are still hopeful they will have Cespedes available for the upcoming season.

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