Jose Reyes is Pretty Good
So let me get this straight — Jose Reyes is leading the league in hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases and at bats, is third in batting and fourth in runs scores — and the Mets are considering trading him? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Of course, perhaps Sandy Alderson is not considering trading him — this is all media speculation. But given the fact that he will be a free agent after the season, if the Mets do not want to sign him or don’t think they can, then the talk of a trade is justified.
However, how can the Mets not want to sign him? When he is on, and he certainly is on right now, he is one of the top players in all of baseball, both offensively and defensively. He is the kind of player you build around. The only thing you can say is wrong about him is that he does not walk, but I think that is highly overrated anyway.
Whether Reyes will want more money than they think he is worth is another story entirely.
Photo courtesy The New York Times
Here’s what I think should happen (and perhaps has or is happening right now) — Alderson should talk to Reyes’s agent and find out how much it would take to resign him. If that number is reasonable, then Alderson should make an announcement and say Reyes is not on the trade market and that the Mets will attempt to resign him during free agency (Reyes and his agent say they will test the waters and not sign during the season). This will make anxious Mets fans very happy.
If it is some kind of insane number, then I can understand trading him before the deadline (although I, along with most Mets, hope this never happens).
I’ve written before that I think Reyes will end up getting around $15 million per year on a five year deal. This is very reasonable for a player of Reyes’s caliber. If the Mets trade him and he ends up signing for anywhere near that amount, expect a full-scale revolt on Citi Field.
Mets fans are smart. If Reyes does end up getting “Carl Crawford money” from another team, while we will be disappointed to lose him, we know deep down that he is not worth that much money (see Phillies fans with Jayson Werth). But if he signs a contract that fans think the Mets could have and should have matched, “that they will not forgive,” to quote Vito Corleone.
Alderson has shown that he is keeping the fans wishes in mind when he makes decisions. While this isn’t always a good idea, I hope he does so in this case.
*****
Great game on Sunday, taking the final game of the three game set with the Phillies. It was nice to take the early lead, although I think if the game had lasted longer the Mets would have coughed up that lead. But luckily games are only nine inings.
Jonathon Niese pitched well, Jason Bay looked better with two hits, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole had three hits each, and Justin Turner had yet another RBI. Oh, and that Reyes guy? All he did was have four hits, including two triples (above). How can the Mets let this guy get away?!