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Cespedes arrives early to Mets camp: 'It's like coming home'

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A new contract and a happy team environment has Yoenis Cespedes (c.) looking forward to his first full season with the Mets.Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images

A new contract and a happy team environment has Yoenis Cespedes (c.) looking forward to his first full season with the Mets.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Yoenis Cespedes had never been in the home clubhouse of the Mets spring training facility before, but just after eight in the morning after he hopped out his customized truck and walked through the doors, the Mets outfielder said he felt like he was back home.

“That’s exactly it, ” Cespedes said through a translator Sunday after arriving three days before Mets position players are required to be in town. “It’s like coming home. I am relaxed. I am home.”

Cespedes walked around the Mets’ clubhouse slapping teammates on the back and hugging others. The 30-year Cuban slugger said that his comfort with the Mets’ after coming to New York in a deadline trade made returning on a shorter than he would like contract very appealing.

“It was a mix of everything, the fans, the front office, the coaches, everything was positive,” Cespedes said. “(I)didn’t think any other team was going to offer (me) that same positive atmosphere.

“I was three years in Oakland, got to know a lot of the guys, but in just a few short months in New York they embraced (me) right away,” Cespedes said. “Everybody has that relationship here.”

Friendships aside, other teams were probably not offering the $27.5 million up front with an opt-out after one year that the Mets were, making this a very nice landing spot for Cespedes. .

The Mets surprisingly signed him in mid-January. With the free agency market not seeming to develop the way he hoped and after a positive experience in New York for the second part of the 2015 season, the Mets were able get him on a very team-friendly $75 million deal for three years. The Mets like it because they are not tied to him beyond his age 33 season and it also motivates him to win now. With an opt-out after one year and a weaker free agency class going into 2017, Cespedes has a chance to turn a good 2016 year into the mega contract he was originally looking for.

Cespedes hit 17 homers and 44 RBI in 57 regular-season games with the Mets. He hit .222 in the playoffs, including going 3-for-20 as the Mets lost the World Series to the Royals in five games, which the Mets feel was partly because of an injured left shoulder.

The Mets felt he was motivated by his pending free agency and the statistics seem to back that up. The 35 homers Cespedes hit between New York and Detroit last season were a career high, as were the 105 runs he drove in. His .542 slugging percentage and .870 OPS were also the best of his career.

“(I) didn’t really give it that much thought,” Cespedes said. “I was out there performing and knew there would be time after the season. Just focused on playing.”

With the new contract and the opportunity to opt-out and cash in after the season, Cespedes said he does not feel any extra pressure this year.

“I’ve just worked hard, don’t put too much pressure as far as contracts are concerned or money is concerned,” Cespedes said.”Just go out there and work hard.”

And it is time for him to get back to focusing on the field. Cespedes said he came to camp early to get ready, but also to re-create the bond that he felt last season with his teammates.

“Meeting those new guys, creating that bond that early on, that is important,” Cespedes said.

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