In February, days before signing a three-year, $75 million deal to rejoin the Mets, OF Yoenis Cespedes was reportedly entertaining a five-year, $110 million offer from the Nationals.
However, he said Monday, the Mets were always his first choice.
"I was never close to signing with the Nationals," he said through an interpreter, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin. "From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets."
In the days after he signed with the Mets, he repeatedly talked about his positive experience in playing in New York, with the Mets and in front of their fans.