The New York Mets recently re-acquired infielder Jose Reyes. The 4-time all-star hasn’t appeared in a game yet this year; during the 2015-16 off-season, Reyes was charged with domestic violence, stemming from an incident with his wife while on vacation in Hawaii. As a result, the MLB suspended Reyes for 51 games. So far, Mets fans on social media and broadcasters alike both appear to love the decision to bring him back.
But before we go “all in” on what a smart move this was, let’s take a look back at what led the Mets to make this decision. There are three sides to Reyes playing in New York again: The good, the bad and the ugly.
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The Good: During his time with the Mets, Reyes became a prototypical leadoff hitter. He led the major leagues in stolen bases from 2005 – 2007. If opposing pitchers walked him, it was basically as good as a double. He would frequently go from 1st to 3rd on a base hit, and from 2nd to home as well. The Mets are hoping that Reyes can play a few positions in the infield (including 3rd base), and platoon in the outfield. A healthy, motivated and productive Reyes, at 33 years of age, is still better than who the Mets currently have batting at the top of their lineup. (Curtis “Grandy” Granderson is batting .219 with an on-base-percentage of .315.)
New York needs a lot of help on offense. They are ranked 13th out of 15 teams in the National league in runs scored, 14th out of 15 teams in batting average, and last in hits. They need a “table setter,” someone who will work the count, draw walks and steal bases once they are on first. Reyes is the all-time Mets leader in stolen bases.
The Bad: When Jose first came up with the Mets, there was tremendous excitement around him. The crowd would cheer soccer-style chants as he walked up to the plate. New York fans loved him. He was a homegrown player who, at 19-years-old, made his major league debut on June 10, 2003. Reyes was young, charismatic and exciting to watch; but as he became more successful, he became what appeared to be a “Diva” in the locker room. In 2011, on the final day of the season, Reyes bunted in his first at-bat for a single. He asked the manager to remove him from the game so he could be the first Mets player in franchise history to win the batting title. He basically implied his individual award was more important than any team win. It was a classless move, and not something a leader does.
The Ugly: The only reason the Mets made this deal is because they were too cheap to sign both Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes in the off-season. I don’t like this Reyes signing at all. The organization keeps trying to repair on-the-field issues with temporary solutions. This move is the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on something that needs stitches. Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera may not be gold glove winners at 2nd base and shortstop, but they have great chemistry and are solid professionals. So now the question becomes: Is Reyes going to ruin the chemistry of this team?
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