Jose Reyes is headed for the open market. The shortstop has told the Mets that he isn't interested in negotiating an extension during the season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Mets approached Reyes' agent only to learn that negotiations will have to wait until after the season, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
As recently as this morning it appeared that the Mets had interest in discussing a deal in the near future. COO Jeff Wilpon said today that he hasn't given up hope on re-signing Reyes, who is scheduled to hit free agency for the first time this fall.
If Reyes is waiting until after the season to negotiate, there's a good chance that he'll become available to all 30 teams. But if the Mets miss the playoffs, they could negotiate a deal during the month of October. Even if New York makes the playoffs, they would have five days of exclusive negotiating rights after the World Series ends.
Reyes has arguably been the best player in the National League to this point in the season. The 28-year-old leads the Senior Circuit with a .341 average, 12 triples, 54 runs, 103 hits and 4.2 WAR (according to FanGraphs).
