In general I’m not a big fan of reunion tours, particularly
when you see some crusty old rocker coughing his way through his hits from 10 or 20
years ago, but that opportunity, such as it is, has likely just hit the Mets’
front door. The Colorado Rockies today announced
they have designated Jose Reyes for assignment.
Since it’s highly unlikely he would be traded given the size of his
contract, his diminished play last season and his off-the-field problem, in ten
days he’s going to become a free agent.
At a pro-rated $500K major league minimum would you take a flyer on
him?
I’m going to shelve the domestic abuse issue for a moment
and purely look at it from a baseball standpoint. Do the Mets need speed? Check.
Do they need a leadoff hitter that would enable them to move Curtis
Granderson into an RBI slot in the order?
Check. Would the fans turn out in
droves? Check. Is he better than Matt Reynolds (whose spot
he’d likely take on the roster)?
Perhaps.
Unfortunately his defensive skills have eroded considerably
and he had arguably one of his worst seasons in 2015 with a .274/7/53 and 24
SBs over 481 ABs. Still, those are not
bad numbers and even at age 32 the speed is enticing. Generally legs don’t improve with age, but
take Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock who both stole bases at an elite level
(Henderson into his 40s!)
The real question for the Mets is whether or not adding
Reyes brings more positives or negatives.
Obviously Bartolo Colon and Marlon Byrd prove that the Mets will turn a
blind eye to people whose moral and ethical values are not consistent with the
squeaky clean image that they try to portray when it helps sell tickets and
jerseys. While the NFL has set a clear
cut policy about domestic abuse, MLB is still finding its footing on the issue
(complicated further by Reyes’ wife not testifying against him resulting in
charges being dropped).
If they were to add Reyes, would it be to start at SS,
forcing Asdrubal Cabrera to 3B? Does
that turn 1B into a platoon with the lefty James Loney getting the lion’s share
of the ABs with Wilmer Flores back to the bench? Or does Reyes become the new Eric Young, Jr.
used as a pinch runner and late inning potential offensive spark when a
baserunner is needed? For less than
$500K would you take him, warts and all?
10 comments:
For 500k why not? The Mets are paying 500k to stiffs live Soup and Reynolds and you can't tell me that even a diminish Reyes is not better than those 2.
You can always switch Walker to 3B and Reyes to 2B. Then you platoon Flores and Looney Tunes.
This team needs speed and Reyes gives them that. Why not take a chance that a motivated Reyes may be what the Mets need right now?
What happened involving Jose was awful.
But if it were an isolated event, I would be much more forgiving. Should never happen, surely, but if he just had a single moment of insanity and learned from it, I would not consider it a show-stopper. Some people will do something awful, and as soon as it happens, think, "how did I do that, and it will NEVER happen again".
If so, I’d be open to the Mets strongly considering him as a 3B alternative. He did OK in his recent 9 game rehab, so he seems to (in a short body of work) to still have "it".
With Wright likely out for the year, put J-Rey at 3rd. His SS range might be diminished, but he always had a gun for an arm.
A Rod moved to 3rd, Jose could too.
I want Jose back. Put him at 3rd and bat him leadoff. Just what the doctor ordered , someone to bring life back to the team...
Jose jose Jose Jose
Jose
Jose
Agree, Tom.
Another hint at a moral turpitude event and I drop him like a rock, but maybe a prodigal son moment even does him some good in the sphere.
3B, not SS, and Wilmer gets some time at 1B, 2B & SS. Didn't like the Johnson pic-up & still don't, so that would be my 25-man and 40-man adjustment. Obviously David will go on the 60-day but I'd save that chip for Wheeler (or, cough, TJ Rivera).
They could always go all Mayberry on Mr. De Aza and create a vacancy that way, too. Nimmo is tearing it up in AAA, plus you have both Lagares and Cespedes capable of playing CF, Conforto, Granderson and, cough, Johnson for the corners.
The Wilpons seem to have no problem bending a rule or 2 so why not bring Jose back. I'm guessing the 500K isn't even guaranteed so if it doesn't work out off he goes. Even if he only provided a short term spark that got the rest of the lineup going it would be worth it. 10 days, isn't that about when the Mets see the Nats again. Speed would be a nice change. Plus the way the Mets get hurt, Flores will still see plenty of playing time. And how about putting Conforto on the 15 day DL to get his wrist some time to heal and add more speed with Nimmo. It's the time of the season that teams need to play in chunks, as in let's get something going to the All Star game. Wheeler comes back for another spark and then make the trade deadline push to get thru August. Just need to get to September when the schedule gets a whole lot better and be within shouting distance.
Like it, Jeff.
Mayberry is using the clicker a lot to watch Mayberry RFD reruns, so he is fit and ready. He can hit. 143 like Rivera, no doubt. But so could Reese and I.
Like it, Jeff.
Post a Comment