The expectation has been that Yoenis Cespedes will be ready to be the Mets' DH for Opening Day on July 23 or 24. And one Mets source is confident that will indeed be the case.

"I think there is a strong chance he is going to be ready once the 60-game season starts," a club source told Mike Puma of the New York Post. "And having his bat in the lineup, that is special."

When spring training was suspended in March, Cespedes -- who has missed much of the last two seasons due to lower-body injuries -- was facing live pitching, taking fly balls in the outfield, and close to running the bases at full speed.

The thought then was that there was a solid chance the Mets would carry Cespedes on their 26-man roster as a bench piece.

Now, with the universal DH and the roster size at 30 on Opening Day, the situation with Cespedes as it pertains to roster fit seems perfect.

"He went home, worked hard, had a training staff that was around him getting him ready," the source told Puma about what Cespedes did during the pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. "But running the bases in a controlled atmosphere as opposed to, 'Whack, the ball is hit, I have got to go,' it's a little different. I have seen injured players try to come back and when they are testing [their legs] it's not the same. I would not doubt Cespedes being ready to go. That's his mindset, he's going to work to be ready. I don't think he is ready for his career to be over right now."

If Cespedes is indeed ready to go, the Mets will conceivably be able to go with an outfield of J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo, and Michael Conforto from left to right, with Cespedes at DH most games.

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