Mets OF Cespedes aiming to play this season

New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is confident he will return from last summer's surgery on both heels. But he can't provide a timetable for when he will be recovered.

"I do feel like I will return. ... It may be three months, it may be two months, it may be one month, but at this point, I do think I can return," Cespedes told reporters on Friday. "When I do return, I plan on being 100 percent, like I was in 2015." Cespedes smacked 35 homers with 105 RBIs and a .291 average in 2015 when he split time between the Detroit Tigers and Mets. He belted 17 homers in 44 games with New York after being acquired, leading the Mets to the World Series before they fell to the Kansas City Royals.

Cespedes was an All-Star for the second time in his career in 2016 when he batted .280 with 31 homers and 86 RBIs. He signed a four-year, $110 million contract following the season but has played in just 119 games over the past two seasons.

Cespedes was limited to 81 games in 2017 due to hamstring issues and played in just 38 last season before undergoing surgeries to deal with calcification and bone spurs in both heels. Cespedes underwent the procedure on his right heel on Aug. 2 and had the left heel repaired on Oct. 26.

The 33-year-old Cespedes said the heel surgeries have been a major source of relief. "I can't even say at the moment that I'm at 50 percent, but when I used to wake up (before surgery), I would struggle walking," Cespedes said. "But now, even at this stage of the rehab, I can definitely walk without any pain."

Cespedes said he plans to begin throwing next week. There isn't yet a timetable for when he will start running or hitting. Mets manager Mickey Callaway wants Cespedes to take things slowly and not be in a rush.

"There's not a lot of precedents for this type of thing," Callaway told reporters of the multiple heel surgeries. "We have time, and we're going to let him get to where he can come back and be that guy that is going to be impactful and be the 100 percent Yoenis that he can be." --Field Level Media