Jose Reyes Cleared to Play

After two weeks of silence about Jose Reyes and that darned hyperactive thyroid, good news out of Florida Tuesday — Reyes has been cleared to play. And there’s a pretty good chance he will be ready for Opening Day.

According to a team spokesman, Reyes’ thyroid levels have returned to normal. And curiously, Omar Minaya says Reyes won’t have to take any medication to keep his levels normal. He’s been told to stay away from seafood, which is high in iodine and can cause thyroid levels to spike.

“The good thing is that he’s back,” Minaya said. “Everybody’s excited. He’s excited. Let’s get that smile back.”

Just two weeks ago the Mets thought Reyes would be out for up to eight weeks. But now he could be ready to start the season at shortstop and in the three spot in the lineup.

“As far as Opening Day, we don’t know,” said Minaya. “We’ll see how Jose comes along. We’re going to have to build his stamina up, and where he’s going to be in two weeks, we don’t know.”

The Daily News reports people close to the situation believe Reyes will indeed be back for Opening Day. They say even though he hasn’t worked out in two weeks, he was in such great shape before the thyroid problem that it will only take him a couple of days to get his baseball legs under him.

Minaya spoke for the wishes of all Mets fans when he said, “I think it’s a good sign for us. Hopefully it’s a good sign for this season.”