We heard the suggestion yesterday from David Lennon of Newsday that the Mets could be open to a reunion with infielder Jose Reyes, and now Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the club is “debating internally” whether to pursue him. ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin suggests that the team’s thinking has shifted in recent days, as sources had previously suggested there was little chance of a match (Twitter link).
It’s not difficult to see the connection on paper. Reyes had his greatest success with New York before leaving the organization via free agency before the 2012 campaign. Though his bat and glove have faded more recently, the Mets are desperate to bolster an infield that is currently missing Lucas Duda and David Wright.
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that the Mets believe Reyes could play third base, though to this point in his career he has exclusively been a middle infielder (appearing almost entirely at shortstop). In theory, the switch-hitter could share time at the hot corner with Wilmer Flores. Either or both could also move around the infield as needed.
Now at the tail end of the deal he signed with the Marlins, Reyes is in quite a different spot than the last time he was on the open market. He has been traded twice and was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies. (Though he is still in DFA limbo, Reyes will ultimately clear waivers without a claim.) In the interim, he not only exhibited some erosion of ability on the field but served a suspension after being arrested and charged with domestic violence against his wife. While those charges were dropped, there’s little question that Reyes comes with serious questions beyond those of most aging ballplayers.
Reyes had continued to deliver above-average offensive production over the first three years of his big contract, but only slashed .274/.310/.378 over 519 plate appearances last year. Defensive metrics haven’t loved his glove for quite some time, though perhaps the lack of range would be less of an issue at third or second.
All said, it’s not clear that Reyes would represent a solution, but the Mets wouldn’t necessarily need him to represent more than a fill-in piece. There are still nearly six weeks until the trade deadline, so New York could simply look to hold things over while weighing more significant additions. And since Reyes is still being paid by the Rockies, the Mets could simply pay him the minimum for whatever time he spends at the major league level. Still, given the serious baggage and the lack of a positive recent track record, it’s far from obvious that Reyes would be a worthwhile target.
This would be a good thing. When I drive around Long Island, I still see people wearing Reyes jerseys they obtained from Marshall’s. They can finally be in style once again.
That’s gold! Hehehe
I know that I shouldn’t get upset about something that might not happen. But…ugh, NO!
The Mets fans that have been crying for this reunion to happen think this is Reyes from 2006. He’s nothing more than a shell of his former self, and that’s on a good day. The team desperately needs a boost, but Reyes is not the answer.
They wouldn’t have to give anything up and it would be for the league minimum, so it really isn’t all that risky.
Before the trade last year:
69 games, .285/.322/.385 with 17 2B, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 16-for-18 in SB attempts.
That’s not better than Ty Kelly and/or Alejandro de Aza?
I’m not saying he’s the All Star he was in the mid-aughts. I’m saying that this team’s depth has been massacred by injuries, and the Mets can easily remake the offense without giving up any prospects.
If you sign Reyes, Gourriel, and bring up Nimmo, while demoting Kelly, Reynolds, and Plawecki, making our 13 hitters::
d’Arnaud, Rivera, Flores, Walker, Cabrera, Gourriel, Cespedes, Conforto, Granderson, Nimmo, Reyes, Loney, Johnson
Instead of:
Plawecki, Rivera, Loney, Walker, Cabrera, Flores, Cespedes, Conforto, Granderson, de Aza, Kelly, Johnson, Reynolds
You don’t feel that’s a lot better?
Yea, he was putting up serviceable numbers with the Jays, it’s not like he was playing at a replacement level. The trade to the Rockies killed his motivation and enthusiasm for the game for awhile, which is probably why his numbers were terrible there, more so than some notion that he regressed further. He’s probably still capable of being a 1.5-2.5 WAR player in the right situation. Moving him to 3rd would be a mistake though, he’s better suited to play 2B. Reyes had a lot of trouble in Toronto with his throws from SS.
Yes I do
At this point it can’t hurt. If he can even be an above average player offensively he’d help. Plus they would be giving up nothing to get him.
Reyes would play 2b moving Walker to 3b
If he signs in NY, will the wife beater get a standing ovation?
Most likely. We’ve seen it in NY and elsewhere. Sports fans generally care more about what players do on the field than off the field. And he was a pretty exciting player for them and a fan favorite, so it’s very likely.
Right, I don’t see any complaints about Chapman in The Bronx.
THE CHARGES WERE DROPPED!!! @staypuft
The Mets have ZERO team speed. and I believe 13 SB for the entire season. Reyes would help with that. If he could bat ~.700 OPS and be a stop gap for a couple positions…I think that is an ideal situation. Yes there are the DV issues, but speaking purely from a baseball perspective he makes sense at the league minimum.
Met fans hoping Reyes can come in and ignite the team reminds me of Rangers fans last year when they got Josh Hamilton from CA. There’s a reason TX got Hamilton for virtually nothing—-he was washed up. Same thing, Reyes. There’s a reason he’s going to soon be a FA.
This thread got pretty well off track, I decided to remove a chunk of it that was off-topic and better suited for some other place on the internet.
There’s more you need to remove!
Reyes I think could play an excellent second moving walker to third. However I also think he could play short and you could move Cabrera to third or him to second and walker to third. Reyes could be a threat at the top of the order and could probably still steal some bases