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July 28, 2015 Mets 2015 Games Dan Capwell

A Reyes Reunion? What Say Ye?

The proverbial ink wasn’t dry on the news of the Tulo to Toronto deal, when the speculation began: will the Rockies spin Jose Reyes off to the Mets? Less than one week ago, before aliens apparently abducted our GM, I would have said “never.” Now, on the heels of Friday’s deal and then again last night, plus the whole Andrelton Simmons story, I am not sure what to think anymore.

So, lets take a look at our erstwhile leadoff guy, Mr. Reyes. He is currently slashing 285/322/385 for the Jays (he has yet to play for Colorado). His health has been OK, he has appeared in 69 of Toronto’s 99 games. FWIW, he played in 143 games for them last year. His stolen bases are way down, 16 this year, so reaching even 30 might be a stretch. He turned 32 last month.

His contract is probably the biggest concern. He’s owed $44 million, plus the remainder of this year’s salary, thanks to the boneheaded Marlins. BTW, I dislike all of  our division rivals, but I really despise the Marlins, however that’s another post. There is a $4 million buyout in 2018, which by then Jose will be 35.

As has been frequently pointed out by myself and many others, the Mets haven’t had a bona fide leadoff hitter since Jose left. But is he the answer? I really can’t see Colorado keeping him. Who else might be interested? The Yankees? The Giants? Pittsburgh? Again, at least until last weekend, these three and several others where probably more likely to pull off a trade like this. Would Colorado swallow say half of Jose’s remaining salary for a package of say Michael Fulmer, Brandon Nimmo, Wilmer Flores and Domonic Smith? They go from paying nearly $100 million for a shortstop, down to $22 million (easy enough to spend someone else’s money!) and get a load of Mets and Blue Jays prospects. That might work for them, but do Alderson and the Wilpons cash in their chips on a risk-filled move like this?

Maybe it’s that the last few years have worn me out, but I just don’t see it happening. But, I certainly didn’t see Friday’s trade coming and I was surprised they gave up what they did for Clippard. So I guess anything is possible. Sorry for burying the lead at the end of the post, but what do you think? Should the Mets bring Jose Reyes back? What should they be willing to give up? Sound off below.

A Mets fan since 1971, Dan spent many summer nights of his childhood watching the Mets on WOR Channel Nine, which his Allentown, PA cable company carried. Dan was present at Game 7 of the 1986 World Series and the Todd Pratt Walkoff Game in 1999. He is also the proud owner of two Shea Stadium seats. Professionally, Dan is a Marketing Manager in the Bulk Materials Handling industry. He lives in Bethlehem PA with his wife and son, neither of whom fully get his obsession with the Mets.
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  1. Meticated July 28, 2015 at 8:01 am
  2. Meticated July 28, 2015 at 8:04 am
    Oh yeah…it’s the 22 million kicker that makes this sensible…don’t get me wrong I love Reyes for what he was. ..but what he is now…no way he’s worth that haul…
  3. r. July 28, 2015 at 8:05 am
    Nope!
  4. david July 28, 2015 at 8:53 am
    Not happening. Mets fans love Jose, but this is a teaser.

    I am happy with the moves the Mets have made. Cuddyer’s injury was fortuitous, and I really like the change in chemistry these 3 seasoned vets give the team.

    Add TDA back in the lineup, and I gotta believe we have a chance. Just look at our schedule and you realize anything is possible.

    D Wright limps to the plate in October a la Kirk . . . . .

  5. Quinn July 28, 2015 at 10:26 am
    Sandy would never admit he was wrong and bring back Reyes
  6. Mets Daddy July 28, 2015 at 1:46 pm
    You get Teyes because he addresses two issues: 1) need for a SS; and 2) need for a leadoff hitter.
  7. Extragooey July 28, 2015 at 3:28 pm
    You guys need to stop being nostalgic when evaluating whether Reyes will be an upgrade for the Mets. Or whether it’s a good idea to trade for a often injured guy making 22 million a year hitting .286/.326/.394 over the last two years with questionable defense and clearly in decline phase with some of your best prospects.

    Was it really a mistake by Sandy not to re-sign him? First year in Florida and Toronto, yah, he was a good player, only made 10 million per and very productive. 2014-2015, you get the player with the aforementioned numbers who is now making 22 million a year until 2017. So yeah, Sandy, why didn’t you resign Reyes? It was clearly a mistake. We obviously needed another player like Wright. One player making 20+ million who can’t stay on the field clearly isn’t enough. 2 of them will make the Mets halfway toward being the Phillies as far as paying the most useless contracts in baseball. You’re right, Sandy made a bogey.

    • Dan B July 28, 2015 at 11:23 pm
      Alderson was right not to sign Reyes after the 2011 season. He was wrong for not signing him before the 2011 season when he could of been signed for less years and less money (though I suspect that was a Wilpon decision) . He was wrong for not getting anything for him when everyone knew they weren’t going to resign him (though again that might of been a Wilpon decision). Alderson was certainly guilty of not having a plan over the next four years on how to replace him (though, again, I am sure the Wilpon’s budget played a role).
      • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 1:25 am
        Reyes was already under contract through his arbitration years and a year or two after with a team option in 2011. This is the typical contract that teams and players work out through the arbitration years to avoid the ugliness that can happen in arbitration. Teams are usually awarded by the player for doing this with a year or two extra with a club option to delay the free agency. There was no incentive for Reyes to break this contract unless the Mets offered him a comparable contract to what he got in free agency. So re-sign him before 2011 or during, you would arrive at this same place now. Reyes did the right thing to go free agent as he’s reaping the rewards from it. Alderson did the right thing not re-signing him and saddling the Mets with the contract Reyes is enjoying now.

        The Mets got a compensatory pick and used it to draft Plawecki so it wasn’t a complete loss.

        The plan was Tejada at short after his good 2011 season. Just because that didn’t work out doesn’t mean there was no plan.

        • DanB July 29, 2015 at 12:26 pm
          Reyes was coming off an injury filled season in 2010. The only chance for a team friendly Reyes contract was to extend his contract then. Instead the Mets stated they preferred to wait to see if he bounced back in 2011. If he didn’t bounce back, they would not of signed him. If he did bounce back, they could not afford him. It was lose/lose.

          Waiting five years for Plawecki (and Reynolds?) is a bad trade.

          Replacing Reyes with Tejada didn’t work out because it was a bad idea from the start. His minor league career showed no signs of him being a solid starter. Five years later the Mets still haven’t shown a plan to replace Reyes (no, I don’t see Flores or Reynolds as being anything other then hoping for the best)

        • DanB July 29, 2015 at 12:29 pm
          By the way, I agree on not bringing Reyes back and on not out bidding Miami. However that doesn’t mean the Mets handled the Reyes situation properly.
        • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 1:31 pm
          Actually the injury filled season was in 2009. But he wasn’t exactly injury free in 2010 nor in 2011 either with 133 and 126 games played respectively. Can you really blame the Mets for not wanting to extend him in 2009 when he was down and out and was most likely willing to extend his contract? Remember it was a severe hamstring injury where they thought the problem was a recurring one that they had to change his style of running. If Wright had only a couple of years left on his contract now, would the Mets try to extend his contract knowing that he has a chronic condition?

          Well, Reyes left in 2011, Plawecki was picked in 2012, not exactly 5 years yet. But either way, I’m not exactly sure why timing has anything to do with value. Reyes could have been traded for A level players with high ceiling 2-4 years away or traded for more major league ready players. Either way it’s value coming back. There was value in receiving a compensatory pick from a class A free agent.

          If you saw that Ruben Tejada wasn’t going to pan out or that Flores wouldn’t either back in 2011, then you should deserve credit for that. Plans to replace a departing free agent when a owner shuts down the funds typically involve developing players internally. It takes time and the players may not work out, but the plans were there,

        • DanB July 29, 2015 at 2:38 pm
          Reyes was on the last year of his contract going into 2010, not two years. Also, i was referring to the 2009 season when I said Reyes was coming off an injury filled season in 2010. I was also referring to Reyes’ injuries when I said he had to bounce back. If the Mets didn’t think he was going to bounce back, a legit concern, they should of worked harder to get more value back for him then Plawecki. And, yes, timing is absolutely a consideration when making a trade. A draft pick for next year is worth more then the same pick in five years.

          In addition, there were plenty on this website who didn’t like Tejada or Flores as a starting shortstop. Even after Tejada’s best year (2011), many on this website didn’t see him as a long term solution.

          But I absolutely agree with you when you blame the owner. I blame them for not trading Reyes during 2010 to sell tickets and I blame them for not providing payroll to replace him. When you budget for two thirds of a team, you get two thirds.

        • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 3:48 pm
          Reyes had a club option for 2011 for 11 million with a 0.5 million buyout. This was picked up of course by the Mets. So in effect, his contract ran through 2011. If the Mets had concerns, I’m sure other teams did as well. Maybe they tried to get more than the compensatory pick but failed. And maybe they figured they were in a rebuild mode already so they let him walk for the draft pick. It goes back to the Wilpons recouping their Madoff loss and actually rebuilding from within for once. People made fun of the Wilpons for always going back on their rebuild promises and then when they actually do it… I’ve pointed this point already in another thread so i’m not gonna go there again.
        • Joe Janish July 30, 2015 at 7:44 am
          http://www.metstoday.com/5976/10-11-offseason/would-you-extend-jose-reyes/

          BTW, a) five years to rebuild? No, that wasn’t a “rebuild,” it was PR spin to cover the Wilpons’ desire to remain moguls despite not having the financial wherewithal to support a MLB franchise; b) why does a big-market team have to lose at the MLB level while it “rebuilds” the farm system? I’ve yet to hear a plausible reason.

      • Extragooey July 30, 2015 at 11:16 am
        Not sure what that link was for, but grats on predicting Tejada and Flores not cutting it. It still doesn’t change the fact that the Mets made the right move not to resign him. If the argument is that the Mets should have signed him to a lesser extension of 3-4 years, I maintain that was a pipe dream. Unlike what you said, a 6-7 year contract was offered to a SS approaching his 30s. Just because Reyes paid the necessary lip service of saying he wanted to remain a Met, doesn’t make him willing to severely hurting himself financially and do that. No way his agent would have let that happen either. Just because you guys think that signing him to a lesser extension was the right move, doesn’t automatically make it a realistic scenario, especially considering the market trend of longer and higher dollar contracts. It should also not be a basis in evaluating if the Mets made the right move.
  8. Colin July 28, 2015 at 4:54 pm
    No. I don’t want him, his terrible war, or his silly handshakes. We’re playing a different brand of ball these days.
  9. DaveSchneck July 29, 2015 at 12:35 am
    No thanks on Jose. Great Met career, but no longer the same player and trending downward. My hunch is that Tulo would be a Met if the ownership was willing to spend like a NY team with a stud young pitching staff should. I think a deal including Wheeler plus and not saddling Colorado with Reyes could have netted the Rockies more. I think Alderson is miffed.

    Regarding the Met need for a leadoff hitter, that is somewhat of a myth. Curtis Granderon has done a fine job, ony hurt by his ineptitude vs. LHP. So, they have a leadoff hitter vs. RHP that gets on base at a .385 clip. The need is for a ledoff hitter vs LHP. Interestingly, Ryes has only a .275 OBP vs LHP this season.

    • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 1:43 am
      I agree about Tulo. Instead of trading Meisner for Clippard, he could have been used as part of a package to get Tulo, if the Mets had been willing to take that contract. But Clippard looks more important now that Mejia got caught again (sigh). But it was still sort of throwing away a prospect for a reliever who’s a free agent after this year especially if no impact bat is coming to help the offense this year.
  10. david July 29, 2015 at 1:46 am
    Quick thoughts on shortstop: 1) why is no one asking if the Jays will flip Tulo?; 2) What happened to Matt Reynolds, who hasn’t played in a while for Vegas?; 3) Is Cecchini gaining the inside track, even though he has 20+ errors? Should he?
    • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 10:26 am
      1. I believe Tulo now has a non trade clause. It was triggered after being traded away I think.

      2. I think he just played his first game at ss in a month due to an elbow strain.

      3. inside track as in fast track? If so,Cecchini just hasn’t had the success in the minors to merit this. He’s having it this year, but because this is the first year tasting success, I wouldn’t rush him.

  11. gary s July 29, 2015 at 12:47 pm
    Wanted Tulo on the mets. Reyes’s best years way behind him.
  12. Andy July 29, 2015 at 2:24 pm
    But didn’t Alderson make an offer for Reyes (albeit less than what Miami offered). If Colorado is really willing (as Dan posits) to pay half the amount remaining on Reyes’s contract, wouldn’t that actually make Reyes a bargain compared to what Alderson was originally willing to pay back in 2011? If the prospect haul isn’t too painful, and is weighted towards pitching prospects blocked by the Mets’ already strong rotation, then I would think the deal would make Alderson look *good* not bad.
    • Extragooey July 29, 2015 at 4:04 pm
      The question is what and how many prospects. Yes, Reyes is probably still an upgrade even at this point over Tejada. The question is how much of an upgrade. Fangraphs actually have Tejada with a higher WAR. They both are around the same wRC+. Factor in Reyes in decline and maybe Tejada approaching his prime years, salary, injury history, etc. Do you really want to go there?
  13. Sidd Finch July 29, 2015 at 9:18 pm
    Jose’s not coming back to NY but Carlos is. Mets swapped Flores and Wheeler to Brewers for Gomez.
    • david July 29, 2015 at 9:57 pm
      Bingo bongo, the Mets are serious about winning in 2015. I really like this move. Only question I have is what they do with Lagares? My guess is they use him as a strong bench player for the rest of the season, late game defense, pinch running and pinch hitting. And then let him have the surgery on his elbow, and he’s back next year some time.
  14. argonbunnies July 30, 2015 at 5:06 am
    Reyes would definitely be an upgrade, but he’d also be an overpaid shadow of his former self. With an expanded budget and not giving up much in return, it’d be worth considering. Otherwise, pass.