Yoenis Cespedes says he wasn't close to accepting a reported five-year contract offer from the Washington Nationals this past offseason.

Cespedes eventually signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the New York Mets that includes an opt-out after this season.

"I was never close to signing with the Nationals," Cespedes said through an interpreter. "From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets."