Funny, I did not realize that the Mets “exclusivity period” to negotiate with Jose Reyes had passed as of last Thursday. Why? Perhaps because I kept waiting to hear news from “a person close to the situation” regarding a rumored offer of some sort by the Mets during that exclusive window of time. Certainly, the Mets would not throw away that opportunity to re-sign their first and only batting title winner?
Yet, clearly, they did. According to various reports, the team has chosen to see what offers the star shortstop will entertain from others before the Mets show their hand. Apparently, they believe that there is a possibility that the open market will be somewhat depressed, and Reyes won’t get any kind of contract offers approaching “Carl Crawford Money”. Rather than bid against themselves, they’re going to see what the market bears, hope it will be less than a 5- or 6-year, $90-110M offer, and then swoop in with a very fair 4-year deal in the $60-70M range. After all, Jose loves playing in New York, and won’t he be happy to give the team a home-team discount?
In related news, the Wilpons are selling the Brooklyn Bridge — and entertaining all serious offers.