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July 3, 2011 Opinion and Analysis Joe Janish

Would Reyes Injury Take Sandy Off the Hook?

We are all hoping that Jose Reyes‘ “tight” hamstring is not going to be a major issue. And all of the early indications suggest that it is nothing to be gravely concerned about. But if it is serious, and sends the superstar shortstop to the disabled list, wouldn’t that more or less allow Sandy Alderson to commence a fire sale?

Say all you want about Terry Collins‘ ability to manage, but the bottom line is this: without Reyes performing at a level above just about every other MLBer, the Mets are well below a .500 team, and looking up at the Nationals instead of running neck and neck with them. That said, if the Mets were without Reyes for even two weeks, any hope of making a run for the postseason is pretty much gone. Let’s face it: the idea that the Mets have a chance at the Wild Card right now, with Reyes, is far-fetched.

Which means that Sandy Alderson would be free to turn the Mets into sellers, and put Carlos Beltran and Frankie Rodriguez — at minimum — on the trading block. One would guess that Chris Capuano and Jason Isringhausen would draw interest — and both are on one-year contracts. Who knows, we might even see Ronny Paulino and Angel Pagan discussed; Paulino’s on a one-year deal as well, and Pagan’s combination of cost (moving toward $4M next year) and age (he turned 30 yesterday) may cause Alderson to move him in the right deal. If you’re going to start rebuilding, you may as well go all out, right?

A DL trip for Reyes also takes Sandy off the hook on another issue: he likely won’t be able to trade Reyes if he’s injured. Teams are hesitant to give up lucrative prospect packages for a two-month rental as it is, so getting a decent deal for a player who could be dealing with a nagging injury is next to impossible.

And finally, should Reyes spend extended time on the disabled list in the second half of the season, it’s all the more excuse not to sign him to a long-term, expensive contract at the end of the year. The Mets would be justified in deciding that they can’t afford to give “Crawford money” to a player with chronic injury issues.

Though it would be irresponsible and ridiculous to think that Sandy Alderson would hope for an injury — I’m certain he wouldn’t — at the same time, when considering all this, one would wonder if a Reyes injury would not be nearly as devastating to Alderson as it would be to us fans.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. izzy July 3, 2011 at 7:52 am
    Without Jose the only thing the Mets would be fighting for would be next year’s top draft pick. The Mets can barely stay with the Pirates and Nats with Jose. Without Jose? Remember when Jose left on the breavement list. A boring bad team for three nights. Same yesterday. As soon as he was gone there was nobody in the lineup to rattle the pitcher and the team looked flat. It wasn’t flat. It was merely the 2009 team with different names. Sandy can rip the team apart or do whatever he and Fred desire. But don’t lie and tell us these new kids are bringing us to the promised land in a year or two. Rebuilding most often takes a long time, especially if Fred won’t pay for the missing links that are needed to go over the top.
  2. Steve S. July 3, 2011 at 8:01 am
    I agree that even with Reyes healthy (and Wright back), the Mets are a long shot for a playoff berth. Trading all the guys mentioned, plus Pelfrey, would be OK soon.

    And if this is another serious injury, Reyes cannot be offered seven years—or perhaps offer him that kind of long-term contract, but with a games-played provision.

    Hopefully, there will be more international and draft-pick signings coming, too.

  3. 86mets July 3, 2011 at 10:37 am
    Even with Reyes, the Mets have been a boring team (save for those 4 fluke games in Texas and Detroit). After Reyes and Beltran there is no offense in the lineup. With Wright and Davis out this team is just too short of any sort of thump to remain in contention.

    If Reyes has suffered yet another hamstring injury I completely agree that Alderson will be off the hook as far as deciding to let Reyes go. He has been great for most of his Mets career, but there are too many instances where he loses focus and tries to be a one man team (see his base running stupidity Friday night as a prime example). Funny how that incident came after A-Rod called him the greatest player in baseball. Did that comment go to his head? If he knew about the quote, then, yes, I’d say it went to his head. As I said he’s been great as a Met but can you really justify giving a player who can’t keep his head in the game consistently “Carl Crawford” money, or more? Would he be able to handle the pressure such a contract would put on him? Or would he simply try to do to much, as Crawford has in Boston? You can see Crawford’s results for yourself. Just something to think about.

    • Mike July 3, 2011 at 11:59 am
      I’m sorry are you arguing that Arod’s comments might have led to Reyes’ injury. Is there an emoticon to sufficiently symbolize how ridiculous that is? Yes. ROFLCOPTER http://ohinternet.com/ROFLCOPTER
    • izzy July 3, 2011 at 2:00 pm
      Tries to be a one man team. He is the team. What havew you been watching? Without Reyes this team is the Astros maybe not even that. Do you love making sily accusations about a player every time he is out? Was Murphy’s head still at home plate when he dropped a throw? Or will you tell us its not his position? Will you tell us that Dillon Gee was thinking about hitting into a DPO when he suddenly gave up 4 runs? Was Niese not having his head ready for the 7:10 starrt on Friday? Or are you so anti_Reyes that you can so falsely claim that only he makes mental mistakes.
  4. David Howard's Nutsack July 3, 2011 at 11:08 am
    Sandy and Terry must be the happiest guys in NY. They just got a free pass until the end of 2012.
    • Mike July 3, 2011 at 12:07 pm
      A day-to-day injury gets Terry and Sandy a free pass through 2012? What so Joel Sherman is going to write fluff pieces from here on out about them? Not in NY. Even if Reyes is out a month or more they won’t get a pass.
    • Mike July 3, 2011 at 12:13 pm
      The idea that either Collins or Alderson would be happy is ludicrous. What an extended Reyes injury would do is simply make Alderson’s job easier in the short term. Decisions are hard to make and they sometimes carry repercussions beyond control. Sometimes you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If Reyes being hurt means either Alderson cannot sign him, then his decision is easier, but the task of replacing Reyes, building this team, and making fans happy becomes more difficult.

      I really reject the idea that this makes anyone secretly happy in Mets land.

    • izzy July 3, 2011 at 1:53 pm
      Your comment is a joke. There isn’t a manager in baseball who is happy about losing.
  5. gary s. July 3, 2011 at 2:02 pm
    The one thing it proves is that any G.M. who gives reyes a 7 year deal for 140-150 million should have his head examined.He is an injury waiting to happen.
    • David Howard's Nutsack July 3, 2011 at 3:16 pm
      See? There’s the first sign of a free pass for Sandy. And I never said Terry would be happy to lose. He’ll just be happy he won’t get fired for losing.
  6. Mic July 4, 2011 at 10:50 am
    In 2005 it was loudly commented that reyes’ should be traded away while still healthy. So how has he done in the last 7 yrs or so? How many players have played more games, had more hits, more triples more steals in that span?

    I