Major League Baseball and the Players' Association have agreed to allow the New York Mets to remain a bidder for Yoenis Cespedes throughout the offseason.

The outfielder's original agent negotiated a clause in his contract that would make the outfielder a free agent after four years in the majors rather than the customary six years.

However, the mechanism that makes Cespedes a free agent calls for him to be released within five days of the completion of the World Series.

MLB rules prohibit a team from re-signing a player until the following May 15 if he has been released at that point. So, barring this waiver, the Mets effectively would have been eliminated from re-signing Cespedes once open bidding begins five days after the World Series.