Ranking the 15 greatest Mets outfielders in franchise history

9/28/08 3:42:51 PM -- Queens, NY, U.S.A  -- The Florida Marlins visit the New York Mets. The Mets
9/28/08 3:42:51 PM -- Queens, NY, U.S.A -- The Florida Marlins visit the New York Mets. The Mets / Robert Deutsch, USAT via Imagn Content
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Yoenis Cespedes after he hit a home run in the seventh inning as the Atlanta Braves play the NY Mets / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com via Imagn

9. Yoenis Cespedes

One of the best trades in franchise history was when the Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers. They sent prospects Luis Cessa and Michael Fulmer to the Tigers to acquire what ended up being the missing piece for a team that went from one that couldn't score a run to winning the National League Pennant.

When the Mets acquired Cespedes I was overcome with joy. Carlos Gomez was a good player who I would've been excited about, but he wasn't this guy. He wasn't the 40 homer guy with a rocket of an arm out of left field.

Right when Cespedes arrived was when the Mets took off. He debuted right in the middle of the memorable series sweep at Citi Field against the Nationals. He slashed .287/.337/.604 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI in just 57 games. He seemed to come up with every clutch hit and throw there could possibly be, and the Mets seemed like they could never lose. He was so good for the Mets he ended up finishing 13th in the NL MVP race despite only playing 57 games in the National League.

In 2016, Cespedes was outstanding once again. He slashed .280/.354/.530 with 31 home runs and 86 RBI. He was an all-star and finished eighth in the MVP voting. He's a big reason the Mets made the Wild Card Game in 2016 when it seemed like everyone was hurt.

In 2017 he played in just 81 games but hit .292 with 17 home runs. After that, the injuries piled up and he was never the same. He's played just 46 games since 2017. His time as a Met ended in a disappointing way, but what he did in his first season and a half as a Met cannot be overstated.