3:35pm: Manny Gómez of NJ Advanced Media reports that there’s no deal in place with Reyes, which MLBTR has confirmed.
3:20pm: The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Alex Reyes, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The righty also receives an invite to major league spring training. The Mets also signed catcher Chris Williams to a minor league pact, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Reyes, 30, is a major unknown at this point in his career. He was once one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball and has done some impressive work in the big leagues, but injuries have been a significant impediment and he hasn’t pitched in any official game action since 2021.
Coming up as a prospect with the Cardinals, Reyes was ranked on Baseball America’s top 100 list in five straight years from 2015 to 2019. He got into the top ten in 2016 and made his major league debut, tossing 46 innings with a 1.57 earned run average. His 12.2% walk rate was on the high side but he also punched out 27.5% of batters faced. Tommy John surgery in February of 2017 wiped out that season. His 2018 return was limited by a lat strain and he struggled in 2019 after that long layoff.
He was back on track to a degree in 2020 and 2021. He worked primarily as a reliever for those two years, tossing 92 innings for the Cards with a 3.23 ERA. His 16.4% walk rate was terrifying but he struck out 30.3% of batters faced and moved into the closer’s role, saving 29 games for St. Louis in 2021.
But as mentioned, that was the last time Reyes has been on the mound. His right shoulder gave him problems early in 2022 and he required surgery in May of that year. He was non-tendered and signed with the Dodgers going into 2023 but then he required another shoulder surgery in June of that year. The Dodgers turned down a club option for 2024 and Reyes didn’t sign elsewhere.
It’s anyone’s guess what Reyes can do after three seasons lost due to shoulder surgeries but there’s no real risk for the Mets on a minor league deal. If he can get back in form, he’ll be found money. The Mets have the payroll to do anything they want, as shown by their record-shattering deal for Juan Soto, but they seem to prefer lower-cost upside plays for the pitching staff. Last offseason, they gave short-term deals to guys like Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman and others.
This winter, they’ve again given relatively short deals to Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas as well as minor league deals for guys like Génesis Cabrera, Chris Devenski and others, with Reyes now added to the list.
Williams, 28, was an eighth-round pick of the Twins and has spent his entire career with that club until now. Based on his minor league numbers, he seems to have a three-true-outcomes approach at the plate. He has 1,919 minor league plate appearances thus far, getting struck out in 29.2% of those but also drawing walks at a 14.5% clip and hitting 95 home runs. His overall batting line of .227/.344/.464 leads to a 110 wRC+. He has played catcher and first base a lot with brief stints at third base and the outfield corners as well, so he can give the Mets some depth at various spots.
