In true Mets fashion, Jose Reyes injured himself again during rehabilitation from a different injury, suffering a torn hamstring as he tried to run in an effort to move past the torn tendon that has sidelined him since June.
As odd as this may sound, the injury may open the door for Reyes to become a 2011 free agent. The Mets have Reyes signed through 2010, at $9MM next season, and a club option for 2011 at $11MM.
While it has long been considered a no-brainer for the Mets to pick that up, should Reyes suffer through similar injuries in 2010, the reverse conventional wisdom may quickly take hold.
And just how flexible the Mets can be at the position will largely be decided by the progress of prospect Reese Havens, who the Mets are sending to the Arizona Fall League. Havens, who turns 23 on October 20, hit .247/.361/.422 in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League this season, with 14 home runs. It is commonly assumed that Havens will move to second base at higher levels, principally because of Jose Reyes.
Now, Havens has had his own injury problems. But who is healthy in 2010 could go a long way toward determining who is the shortstop at Citi Field in 2011. Mets fans just pray that it's one of these two, and not Anderson Hernandez.
