Report: Yoenis Cespedes Negotiating With Mets, Nationals

(CBS) The White Sox appear to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Yoenis Cespedes sweepstakes.

A high-profile free-agent outfielder who hit 35 homers and had 105 RBIs last season, Cespedes is now mulling a three-year offer from the Mets that includes an opt-out after the first season, ESPN.com reported Friday morning. He's weighing that offer against a five-year deal that the Nationals had already extended, according to ESPN.com.

Cespedes has long been on the White Sox's radar, but they've been unwilling to date to extend anything more than a three-year offer after getting stuck in several bad long-term contracts in recent years, notably the Adam Dunn deal.

A potential opt-out following the 2016 season would allow the 30-year-old Cespedes to hit the open market again next year as the headliner of a weaker free-agent class. This offseason included fellow high-profile outfielders Jason Heyward and Justin Upton being available, as well as powerful first baseman Chris Davis.

The White Sox currently have Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia as their everyday outfielders for 2016, and they've been open to upgrading there.