Wow! That’s all there is to say about the coup the New York Mets pulled off late Friday night, re-signing outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a three-year (player opt-out after one year) deal, even though he reportedly held an offer of five years and over $100 million from the division rival Washington Nationals.

When Cespedes was ridiculously hot swinging the bat in August and September, sparking a run by the Mets that ultimately led them to the National League pennant, it was impossible to envision the slugger not signing a long-term, nine-figure contract this winter. Such contract demands would surely be too much for the Mets, based on their somewhat limited payroll and their reluctance in recent years to sign free agents to massive contracts. But general manager Sandy Alderson and his staff were patient. They waited out the market, and in the end the Mets ended up re-signing the player fans have been clamoring for all offseason — and they did it on their terms.

Signing Cespedes to a long-term deal, like the one the Nationals were reportedly offering, would have been incredibly risky and potentially disastrous. There would be questions about Cespedes’ effort and drive once he signed a long-term deal, and perhaps more importantly, the Mets would lose the kind of payroll flexibility they will need in the years to come if they hope to keep their young pitching staff in place once their salaries start to increase with arbitration and they ultimately reach free agency. But somehow, Alderson and the Mets were able to re-sign Cespedes without taking on those risks.

The deal the Mets signed with Cespedes is absolutely perfect from New York’s perspective. Cespedes will have a three-year safety net in case things don’t go as planned or he gets hurt, but realistically, this is a one-year deal. The Mets will pay $27.5 million in 2016 for one year of Cespedes: a Cespedes who will be motivated to win a World Series after New York fell a few games short in 2015, and a Cespedes who will be motivated have his personal value as high as it can be for when he opts out after the season and hits the free agent market again, hoping once again to sign a long-term deal.

The Mets bringing back Cespedes only made sense on a short-term deal, and they did exactly that. The monetary cost is high, but it’s worth it to have a game-changer like Cespedes in the middle of their lineup as they take another shot at a world championship in 2016. And it’s also worth it to avoid a risky, long-term contract. How the Mets convinced Cespedes to pass on more guaranteed years and return to New York on what is essentially a one-year deal is hard to say. The bottom line is that Cespedes will be back in New York in 2016, and things worked out perfectly for the Mets.