9
2011
Re-Sign Reyes? Sure No Problem, But For How Much?
An article by 
Rather than post another Reyes blog, I thought I would simply add a small addendum to this one.
Ted Berg posted an interesting question on his blog Ted Quarters:
So I’m wondering what you think would be a fair price for an extension for Jose Reyes right now. Knowing that he can be awesome, but hasn’t been for a couple of seasons… We don’t have to make these decisions, which is good… But would you sign Reyes to, I don’t know, a five-year, $90 million extension today? Would Reyes accept that, or would the allure of getting Crawford money on the open market be too great? What would the Mets need to spend to lock him up, and should they?
A 5-year deal for $90 million is actually a nice stab by Berg, and it would definitely do it for me, but would it be enough? Would it cost the Mets more? How much more?
What would be your best and final offer - your absolute cut-off that would make you say, “forget it, anything more would be too much?”
Original Post 3/6 10:00 AM
As some of you know, Metsmerized Online is a fan site and not a blog. What that means exactly is that we are not slanted one way or another. We don’t have one point of view on any Mets issue, we have several. This site does not take on my own persona, all I do here is coordinate. We express all of the opinions of the fanbase and all are welcome to contribute to our thriving community that garners us over 130,000+ pageviews a day from nearly 12,000 daily unique readers so far in 2011.
So with that in mind, let me just just that I totally disagree with my colleague Craig on a number of issues regarding his post on Jose Reyes yesterday. While I do hold true to the fact that on-base percentage is an excellent tool for player valuation, and even more so when analyzing the effectiveness of a leadoff hitter, I don’t believe for one second that it is the “end-all, be-all” in determining whether a player like Jose Reyes should be re-signed or simply allowed to walk at the end of the season. Let’s just make that clear.
We’ve already read a thousand posts on this subject in the Mets blogosphere since the end of last season, and there will no doubt be at least a thousand more before all is said and done.
Jose Reyes is not just your typical player for the New York Mets. You can’t just whisk him away the way we did Pedro Feliciano in the offseason. Jose Reyes has become iconic to the New York Mets. He is a homegrown talent who blossomed into super-stardom before our very eyes, and he did it while playing shortstop, a position that has been a black hole offensively for this franchise for nearly it’s entire history.
Anyone who doesn’t realize the stature that Jose Reyes has built among the Mets fanbase and in this sports mecca – New York City, is ill-equipped to understand the unique relationship a fan develops with those homegrown players that actually make it to the team, and then go onto exceed all of our expectations. It’s a bond that is not easily severed, and I’m hoping and do believe that our general manager is fully aware of the uniqueness of Reyes’ emotional attachment to this fanbase. Reyes is one of the few marketable commodities this team has. Thousands of Mets fans at every game show up wearing their Jose Reyes jerseys and other apparel. His face is emblazoned on every Mets marketing and promotional medium.
Sometimes managers and general managers say things just to get a rise out of a player. Just to give that player a kick in the ass or something to think about. The sole intent of what they say to the media is the hope that it gets back to the player and somehow motivates them to enhance and improve their performance and focus. Davey Johnson was a master at doing that, and Bobby Valentine was the absolute best at it. So lets not go ballistic and jump off the deep end every time we hear something from Sandy Alderson or Terry Collins, especially when their comments are pointed at a particular players performance in any one area of his game. In this particular case, Jose Reyes and any comments made from the front office about his on-base percentage. I hope Reyes caught wind of it, and I hope he takes it to heart and increases his OBP by 30 or more decimal points. But if by chance he doesn’t, no way in hell are we gonna let him just up and leave at the end of the season… No way.
I’m even more dead-set against it after reading this particular quote from Adam Rubin this morning in regard to the upcoming new Collective Bargaining Agreement and the one thing the Mets would not dare endanger this year – the already sagging ticket revenue.
A couple of potential issues: Alderson may have more autonomy than previous Mets executives, but a white-flag trade at the July 31 deadline would be a further drag on attendance in the second half, unless the Mets got an exciting young player already having broken into the majors back. And given the seemingly dire financial issues, can the Mets afford to do something that further drains attendance, ratings and revenue, even if it is prudent baseball-wise?
Then again, the new collective bargaining agreement appears as though it may change draft-pick compensation, with teams only getting a created sandwich pick between the first and second rounds — and no longer getting the signing team’s first-round pick. That means the Mets could lose Reyes as a free agent and only get a draft pick in the 31-40 range as compensation.
Believe me, most of all the leverage lies with Jose Reyes. I really felt that the new front office should have worked something out before the start of the season, because if Reyes runs like the wind and becomes the game-breaking, impact player we all know he can be, it’s going to cost the Mets tens of millions of dollars more to keep Reyes right here in Flushing, where he belongs.
If he’s wearing anything other than a Mets cap next season, there will be hell to pay from this fanbase.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Bingo. This franchise desperately needs heroes, and it’s had precious few since Piazza left. In other words, Wright and Reyes pretty much need to stay, at almost any cost. Part of the reason the Yankees continue to be so successful with the fans (other than the fact that they win all the damn time) is the consistency of the faces on the field. When was the last time Jorge Posada was REALLY any good? It doesn’t matter, he’s a hometown favorite, so they do what they have to to keep him around.
If Reyes has a breakout year and the Mets fail to sign him, and he ends up in pinstripes, I’ll throw up.
Iconic,super -stardom what reyes are you talking about ? Granted he is good.Super guess again.In a nutshell he plays when he wants to play his so called glory days are over trade him while he has some value Baltimore? they seem to buy alot of junk. He is no Ozie,nor Derek, by the way you won’t be throwing up he is no way pinstripe material
Reyes’ should be approached with a hopefully uninsulting 5y/70M sized opener configured potentially as $5M signing bonus+ 11Min 2012+12M in 2013+13M in 2014+ 14.5M in both 2015 & 16. While it’s unllikely to be accepted according to conventional wisdom both Roy Halladay & Cliff Lee are toiling under similarly unconventional concepts
NB that’s my opening offer. Too much of conventional wisdom is based upon the rhetoric of $$$ trumps ALL considerations, wonder what Cliff Lee thought about that premise, or Tony Guinn for that matter. Has anybody tracked these Crawford # desires back to someone who matters like Reyes or his agent, Peter Greenberg? If Reyes was solely interested in cashing in would he not have hired Boras just like Cano recently has done?
No. There is nothing real to report. It’s all speculation by bored reporters and fans that need something to gripe about.
The timing of how everything went last year was a disaster for us keeping Jose. That was the time to approach him, not after Crawford got such a huge deal. Right now there are only a couple of reasons for Reyes to sign. Bad year, injury plagued year. He probably won’t have either so he’s getting huge dollars that we have already spent on the oldest years of other teams players. Great, just great.
It is stupid to look at Jose’s OB as a reason to sign him or not. He is one of the very few SS’s that both hit and field better than average. One of the top 3 SS’s in baseball. He doesn’t have to hit leadoff. I think he’d be a great #2 hitter or if he wants to retain leadoff then stop being so gullible.
If they stop the compensation for teams who lose players than this game is going to be ruined. Only the richest teams will have a shot. The teams that cannot resign their players will have no chance of getting 2 good players down the road and even 1 is by no means guaranteed.
The timing was terrible, you’re right. Wilpon lost his trust in Omar and tied his hands so there was no negotiation with Reyes. He wasn’t even allowed to try and work something out before activating that 11 million option. They might have been able to get a 5 year 70 million deal done, now it may cost him more years and a lot more money.
As for your other point, losing the draft pick compensation would be terrible. But I ccan see them doing it. The agents want the rich teams to keep their first rounders not lose them to the small market teams who cant re-sign and keep their own stars. It’s iinevitable. And like I wrote in a post last week, Selig couldn’t give a rats ass about ppreserving the integrity of the game.
That would be a disaster Joe. The only thing keeping hope alive in the small markets are their farm systems. If the cost of scouting, signing, developing and then losing good players is not at least compensated with TWO picks then the whole season is about who faces the NYY or Boston. Unfair, and many people all over the country will just throw up their hands.
As it stands now you should get a comp pick regardless of offering arb, a first or 2nd if you do AND an unprotected four year minor league prospect from the team signing your player.
Fact: Jose Reyes isn’t going to be . a Met after this season , if he even makes it thru the season. Ever since becoming GM Alderson has stated reason after reason not to even negotiate with Jose. Then if he has great year, he’d have to be nuts not to become a FA and then Alderson will act shocked and dismayed that someone gave him more than 3-4 years. If he doesn’t have a great year, Alderson will act like Jose is just a guy who doesn’t deserve more than a 1.5 million deal. And the small minority of fans who want him gone because he just isn’t perfect, will celebrate and spend the next two years telling themselves how great the next Steve Henderson is. And the vast majority of fans will do what they did when Seaver was dumped, ignore the Mets for years until they woke up and brought in talent.
Fact: YOU have no idea what is going to happen with Jose whether he resigns or not – you are NOT the GM so you don’t know FACTS.
Opinion – absolutely!!!
Please learn the difference.
I’m more inclined to believe these off handed comments from Alderson such as ‘I’d like to see Jose play a time or two’ before thinking about a contract, mean the beginning of the end. He’s throwing hints out there but if he thinks that will soften the blow, he’s sadly mistaken.
From what I’ve read around the Mets blog sphere and various polls so far, the overwhelming majority want Jose back. And if we walks, no matter how they spin it, I don’t think there’s one Met fan that’s going to believe anything other than the Mets are broke and can’t afford him.
Beltran gone, Reyes gone – you can believe Wright will be the next one exiting Flushing as well. If the Mets don’t want to be heading towards the dark days of the mid 70s to early 80s, they’d better find some way to pony up that money for Reyes.
I sure hope you’re wrong. We’re talking about my three favorite Mets.
I sure hope I am too. Although I think it’s a foregone conclusion Beltran will be playing his last days in a Met uniform this first 1/2 season.
You can count on Beltran being gone, it doesn’t look good for Reyes and who really knows with Wright. By 2014 we could really have a completely different team.
Thole/Grodeur, Davis, Havens. Tejada, Murphy/Lutz/A Rodriguez, Flores LF, Puello/Den Deker, Vaughn.
Niese, Mejia, Gee, Familla, Cohoon, Harvey, Matz, Urbina
Add in the prospects or draftees for Beltran (if any) Reyes, Wright and Pelfrey and perhaps some mid season trades of guys we picked up on the cheap for some prospects in A- or A+ ball and followed up by some of McDonalds draft choices and IFA’s.
I’m not advocating this but the facts are that we failed to fill in around Beltran, Reyes and Wright adequately aside from first base. We didn’t get much in the way of offense from C, RF, LF and 2B during their entire career, nor did we put out more than one front line starter at a time.
That work should have been done ahead of time, not just with whoever “we could get” every off season.
One thing missing here is exactly what the players think about the state of the Mets organization and where they stand. No one wants to stay in a job that is in a precarious position. But, what if the Wilpons end up having to leave and the team reverts to temporary ownership from Major League Baseball until a new owner can be found?
Ms Savoy….. You give the player a good enough deal and he will be on your team almost every time. Cliff Lee was the exception, not the rule. By not talking deal with Jose the Mets gave him up to 29 other places to get a deal.
Great article Joe. Jose’ is one of the Mets core players and deserves respect and support. Unfortunately, my personal opinion is that it is very unlikely that he will be part of this team after this season. Given the current fianancial problems of ownership (no one should continue to have blinders on about that), I do not foresee any way in which Jose’ will be offered a competitive contract to continue his career with the Mets. It is inevitable that he will either walk as a free agent or be traded for less than his true value. The current GM is already getting us accustomed to the idea and will serve as the primary proponent of the ownership position. The timing is very unfortunate as the Mets claim to be embarking on a renewal and redevelopment plan to establish competitiveness for the future. Losing Jose’ will be a veritable kick in the teeth at just the worst possible time. This failure will be a major setback that will hurt for years to come. I hope Reese Havens stays healthy and develops rapidly in the minors because we will surely need a capable and talented shortstop to join the team for the 2012 season. Sorry, but that’s how I see the current situation.
I’ve been a Met’s fan since 1970 when I was a kid watching with my Dad and Brothers. If the Wilpons loose Jose and or have a fire sale to keep the team and not do whats right for the team and the fans….. I may have to say good bye to the Mets and Start all over again somewhere else. And before someone replys to this comment with a rude or out of line comment about how if I can’t hang in there I better go be a tailgater accross town or some other childish comment. Understand I’ve been a Mets Fan for over 4 decades and this is really Heart Braking to me and I don’t make the comment litely.
Mark – I can hear the sorrow in your post about the Mets – you are not alone. Somewhere along the way the Mets and other teams decided to ignore the fans and their customers’ needs and concentrate on making money for themselves. We’re all in the same boat, Mark, and it sure is a sad situation for anyone who truly loves the game….
The thing about Craig’s post yesterday was it was based on a tweet that says some “people” in mets org said reyes needs to improve his obp for mets to offer multi yr deal.
People?
that could be any1. I def am not going to put any stock in that.
Very unlikely there will be any offer of a multi yr deal for Jose’, obp or not. The financials simply do not allow for it.
As dire as the ‘pons situation might be, the Mets are their most valuable asset. That means they need it to sell as many tickets as possible. Nobody is going to buy into or offer a loan against an asset that can’t produce income.
Jose Reyes sells tickets. No two ways about that. He is a top 3 short stop and gets out in the community. He’s really easy to root for.
We can argue over his abilities as a lead off man, but we can all agree on this:
The Mets are better as a team, a franchise, and a business with a jealthy and jappy Jose Reyes playing for them. No one has said otherwise.
People who keep trying to refer to unsourced comments or off hand remarks by executives seem to love ignoring the fact that Alderson said so point blank.
Well said and I’ll point out that there are negotiating postures at work here as well……hopefully.
“People who keep trying to refer to unsourced comments or off hand remarks by executives seem to love ignoring the fact that Alderson said so point blank.”
Very true indeed.
I see people talking about timing of the deal and mentioning Crawford but Reyes still has to put up those numbers to get what Crawford did.
If Reyes is hurt a lot of the year how money would you have saved by signing early?
None in fact you probably would have blown 4 years or more because you jumped the gun!
How old was Beltran when we signed him?
How many season did he last before injury made everyone sour on his salary?
Some people think the Beltran and Delgado signings are the reason we are where we are.
Guess what though…
If Crawford got that money what makes you think we wouldn’t have paid as much anyway? All it would have done is made Crawford ask for even more than we gave Reyes and more than he got because he wasn’t the first one to inflate the salary.
If that is the salary that production can command it really doesn’t matter who sets the first bar high, the bar is set where the market set it at!
If we had signed Reyes last season it would likely be for the same Crawford like money!
Because Agents know what everyone else is willing to pay, thats their job!
I think the Crawford deal was also driven by the Sox missing October last year because of an aging lineup. They were desperate an no one saw that coming. the Nats paying top dollar for Werth probably drove it up too.
So, maybe the Mets could have gotten a better price on Reyes if they had resigned him last year.
But, none of that matters. It is the past and none of us can change that, unless you have a DeLorian or a police box handy. What we have to deal with is the here and now.
You’re probably 100% right, but the irony is that the Sox, so worried about their age, signed a 30+ guy whose game relies on his legs to a HUGE deal.
Crawford never had his value diminished by injury, nor was he liable to get injured. The season was over.
Last year Jose was coming off a 26 game season and inactivity due to his thyroid and had TWO seasons to play through and risk injury.
When deciding whether to sign early the player weighs giving up some of the compensation vs. the risk of injury or decline. If he accepts the risk is then transferred to the team because the player is guaranteed the cash but the team then gets the player at a reduced cost because of accepting that risk.
Two full seasons of play constitutes far more risk of injury to the player then zero seasons.
For the “saber sandy is the devil” crowd:
Ted Berg chatted with new Minor League Field Coordinator Dickey Scott. Here are a few highlights:
Scott on Sandy Alderson, the new regime and the role of statistics in his job:
“They go by what their eyes see as well. It’s not just looking at a stat sheet and saying, “this is the guy we need.”… It’s a combination of all of those things. … JP was a scout before he was a moneyball guy, if he even is a moneyball guy. Sandy’s the same way, there’s a combination of both of those things: looking at stats and looking at players and tying it in together.”
Again, the scouts versus stats debate is a fraud. Everything matters.
“It’s a combination of all of those things”
It is what I keep trying to tell people in here.
Some want to get hung up on the percentages now of what is used more than the other.
Who cares the point is that it is about how they use the entire “combination of all of those things”.
For the record I have yet to see anyone claim it is more about statistics than scouting in this fan site.
Just focus on the quote. “It’s a combination of all of those things”
That is what matters not the percentages.
The only people who get hung up are the people who are ignorant. The saber folks in here beat their heads into a wall trying to get across how important EVERYTHING is, and hte ignorant crowd creates a debate where there is none.
Yes Xtreeme You and a few we know that your not all OBP All the time.
But yet it is the only Saber anyone ever seems to mention when a player gets brought up!
Stats are all that are ever discussed.
Why aren’t we talking about Mechanics and all those things that are a REAL predictor of things to come like Injury?
This is where the Scouting is the most important aspect and no one ever talks about that it is always OBP and SLG/
This is probably why there are so many arguments because we keep spouting numbers which don’t predict a thing! Because what happened last season can no more influence this season than touching first base on a home run trot can cause you to hit the HR after the fact!
Who is saying that? Is it the same people that are saying home runs aren’t important?
Stats are a way to track a player’s performance, that is why they are discussed. but, they are never the only thing discussed, unless the discussion is specifically about stats.
You are the one inventing the Cult of OBP.
Yes, it helps determine how good a batter is at avoiding outs. It can be a good starting point. But none of us have ever said it is the be all and end all.
Clean up hitters don’t need a huge OBP. Most of us will accept trading a few OBP points for more extra base hits, especially home runs.
Catchers also tend be a special case.
And nobody cares what Jenry Mejia’s OBP is or will be.
No you don’t say it is the be all and end all you just don’t talk about anything else which has to be taken by anyone listening to you that you don’t CARE about anything else…
If you really thought other things were important you wouldn’t just talk about OBP!
Hard to claim you care about other things when you never discuss them or ignore them in favor of a conversation about OBP!
If you don’t really feel OBP is the be all and end all then you should attempt to communicate it better!
By mentioning something OTHER than OBP!
And I don’t mean throwing SLG in there every now and then as a changeup!
If a pitcher throws nothing but fastballs he is said to be a fastball pitcher!
If all you ever talk about is OBP your called OBP Centric!
Throwing SLG in as a changeup does not change that assessment!
Just as past performance is used to judge players, Past statements are used to judge talkers!
And so far in the past most people who talk players all focus on the OBP and nothing else!
If it seems like I only get involved in those conversations maybe it is because you constantly say things like, “saber guys only care about OBP”.
It has become the favorite attack point of some people. I’m merely trying to clear up misinformation.
Do most of my comments delve into advanced metrics? Yes, because it is a hot topic right now and I’m into it. There are also a lot of misconceptions that I think need clearing up. Your obsession with OBP being one of them.
What if I constantly say something like “Metsie is a Phillies fan trolling the board”? You know that isn’t true and you would correct me when I tried to use it in a discussion to prove a point I was making.
Would it be fair of me to then turn around and say, “if you weren’t such a Phillies fan then why do you always talk about them”?
Of course not, since I’m the one steering the conversation in that direction.
Donal where did call YOU out by name pray tell?
YOU indicted yourself and identified YOURSELF as who I was talking about….not me!
So I guess you felt the shoe fit and put it on!
Obviously you have issues with what you think is important to you not so much me!
I’m an advocate of advanced statistics or “sabermetrics”. When you say things like “saber guys value OBP over HR”, you are misrepresenting what people like myself actually advocate.
When you constantly misrepresent or lie about someone, they have every right to correct you. You then can’t turn around and claim they are obsessive.
And WHO put you into that conversation?
ME?
or YOU?
You replied to something I said about saber people in general!
If you value the HR more than OBP why aren’t you saying so?
Maybe you are but since you feel I was talking about you I take it you identified yourself with what I said!
Which means YOU have to convince YOU that you are not who I was talking about….not me!
As for the SABERS Tell me what you consider to be more important than OBP!
This way you can start arguing with the other Saber guys and I can move on with my day’s agenda!
“And WHO put you into that conversation?
ME?
or YOU?”
I freely joined the conversation. Much like you willfully post your lies.
“You replied to something I said about saber people in general!”
Because your generalization is wrong. I’ve asked you repeatedly to tell me who is saying the things you accuse sabermatricians of saying and you have yet to directly answer.
“If you value the HR more than OBP why aren’t you saying so?”
I have. Repeatedly. Not to mention the fact that the two are not mutually exclusive. I’m just willing to sacrafice a little OBP for more power.
“Maybe you are but since you feel I was talking about you I take it you identified yourself with what I said!”
If I consider myself and advocate of sabermetrics and you say something about what “saber heads” think, who should I figure you are talking about? Fencing afficianados?
“Which means YOU have to convince YOU that you are not who I was talking about….not me!”
Now you are just babbling. an attempt to distract from the issue.
“As for the SABERS Tell me what you consider to be more important than OBP!”
I like the idea of Runs Created, but that is still debated.
The truth is, there is no one perfect stat. It depends on the player, batting order spot, position etc etc.
“This way you can start arguing with the other Saber guys and I can move on with my day’s agenda!”
What other “saber guys” are you talking to that say the things you claim?
And sabermetrics advocates do debate amongst each other.
OK since you obviously have READING issue or are simply a dolt who likes to pick fights because he likes them here IS what I said.
“Yes Xtreeme You and a few we know that your not all OBP All the time.”
YOU being the arguing idiot you ALWAYS seem to be took that to mean YOU!
ANd you started a fight with me BASED on that.
So YOU said you only talked about OBP by identifying your self with a group OTHER than X and a few
So either shut up about what you said or stand up for why you feel I was unfair to the UNANAMED Saber idiots who only talk about OBP and nothing else!
And if you insist on continuing to argue with me then all that will PROVE is YOU ARE one of those OBP only idiots and thats why you got involved in a conversation that had nothing to do with you in the first place!
Maybe if you or NJ, actually read what I was saying, maybe you would understand the point I was trying to make the other day. but I think you are just hearing what you want to hear, and not what I’m actually saying. It doesn’t matter how many times I explain it, you won’t get it, because you don’t WANT to hear it.
You guys are the ones creating a debate when there is none, I never said “saber Sandy was the devil” i never said anything even close to that.
Go ahead, keeps making stuff up, if you want.
Vinny dude cmon really?
Take your own advice then if your going to dish it out to others OK?
Maybe you should actually read what others were saying.
Who said you called ALderson the devil?
My advice to you is take your own advice.
In the end my point continues to be that the Mets will use “a combination of all of those things”.
I am ok with that and cautiously look forward to seeing what results we get from it.
Are you OK with the Mets also using “a combination of all of those things” Vinny?
Good quote ANY.
you shouldnt complain abot losing if you are fans of players based on things other than their ability.
Joe, I love ya dearly, but for the life of me I don’t understand this fascination and loyalty you have to Jose Reyes. Is he a talented player? Yes. Is he exciting to watch? Yes. Can he look like an MVP short periods of a season? Yes. All that said, he has an incredible number of flaws in his game and in his makeup and I’m not talking about the overrated on-base-percentage thing.
Let’s take that overplayed argument first. I don’t believe that Alderson and company are going to make their decision on Reyes JUST because he’s OBP may not be where they want it. You can accept a lesser than great OBP from a leadoff hitter, if he supplies power and scores oodles of runs. The problem with Reyes isn’t just that he doesn’t walk enough for a leadoff hitter. The problem is that he strikes out too much for a leadoff hitter. The problem is that he makes too many bad outs on swinging at bad pitches for a leadoff hitter. Need I go on? We’ve seen it for years.
Now add to that the fact that his defense at shortstop can be spotty and inconsistent, that he isn’t the kind of leader type you want in that position, that he makes bone-headed decisions on the bases on a fairly regular basis, and that he’s been incredibly fragile the last couple of seasons.
Now if he absolutely rakes in the first half and plays at an All-Star caliber, of course you don’t deal him. But pretty good isn’t going to cut it anymore. If he’s hitting .280 in June with a poor OBP, few steals and not a lot of power, I’d gladly move him for some good prospects or a young major league ready pitcher because there will be some team in contention that will salivate for Reyes and overpay him.
If the Mets can solidify the other positions on the field and get production from all the outfielders, second base and catcher, they can survive with Ruben Tejada at shortstop for the future. I mean, for goodness sake, 25 years ago we won the World Series and more than 100 games with Rafael Santana at short. Please let’s not put Jose Reyes in the Hall of Fame just yet. We aren’t all going to shrivel up and die if he is traded, whether it’s for budget or any other reason.
‘We aren’t all going to shrivel up and die if he is traded, whether it’s for budget or any other reason.’
My problem with this statement is the ‘budget’ part. If Reyes is the best option going forward and they can’t afford him, they probably won’t stop with him. How many talented players will walk and/or can’t be signed b/c the Wilpons are struggling to maintain control over a team they might no longer be able to afford?
Are we going to become a small market team in NY in the near future?
Well the budget issue is vastly different going into next year.
Castillo and Perez come out of the budget and very likely all that money they are paying Beltran now disappears too!
That alone should be enough money to re-sign Reyes if he proves he deserves it.
The bottomline here is if they are competitive and people go to the game the budget will not be an issue.
But if they suck and people organize boycotts again like they tried last year not only will Reyes go but so will Wright and any other player you think is worth keeping!
or better yet, maybe the team will get owners who aren’t swindlers and connivers and liars and then people will go because they don’t have to be ashamed they are met fans and give their money to jerks/liars like jeff wilpon. but you go ahead and gve all your $$ to those jerls. It won’t change a thing. Only new owners will do that.
Good lunk finding some who is rich who ISN’T a swindler and conniver Harry!
How do you think you become rich in this day and age other than have it willed to you by some other conniving swindling idiot?
You complain that Sandy didn’t sign anyone this year.
Well how do you expect them to do it without resorting to getting money to pay for them any way possible?
They sure aren’t going to be able to Pay based on Harry’s Season ticket purchases!
One interesting thing that has somehow gone under the radar, Peter Greenburg, Reyes’ agent (you know, the guy who actually does the negotiating) has said he would talk deal in the middle of the season. And this isn’t some anonymous source speaking in vague terms. This is one of the parties directly involved with the situation going on the record.
So cute Donal, trying to act intelligent by acting like you are the only one smart enough to know what an agent does. Guess what donal, you are not only a parrot you are a pathetic one. donal want a cracker, donal want an agent…. donal want a brain!!!!
I’ve been around the Mets and Jose Reyes long enough to remember when they sent him to Port St. Lucie to learn how to run the bases, and all the times they checked his thyroid. I”m sure those are the kind of ‘minor issues’ that Peter Greenburg remembers, too.
Also, speed is not one of the baseball skills required if you don’t have the others, too.
Reyes not being signed is the symptom, not the cause. The cause is your team is broke, and until that gets fixed, you will continue to see any player that could pull 8 figures per year on other teams as soon as their contracts expire. Who want to sign for a team where the head of the union has to get assurances that you will get paid checks when you’re supposed to. Would you work for a company like that ?
Of course, how to the Mets draw more revenue without good players, like Reyes?
I honestly don’t know if Jose could leave upwards of 30 million on the table. He’s in his prime, and even stealing 35-45 bases with above average defense at shortstop with upside could get him big money.
I’d hate to see him leave because he is a cornerstone player.
he is less valuable to us than any other team because we stand to receive compensation for not signing him. we should let him go.
And how do we know said compensation will be on his level? Do you have any idea what the talent drop off is after him , Ramirez and maybe Tulo?
He’s 27 so I have no problem going 7 year deal only IF WE HAVE TO. We should agree that he gives us the right of first refusal, which isn’t very common in baseball, but it should be.
Players like Jose and David and now Ike don’t come around often.
I remember when the Mets were bad and then Strawberry, followed by Doc and then Darling, Sid, Jesse, Backman and Dykstra came along and were surrounde by vets like Keith, Gary and Knight is what made the team hot again and their play brought in fans, and attention which made owners money.
After the team of the late 90″s and the WS run of 2000 and the play of Piazza the Mets had no one to bring in fans until Jose followed by David then the signing of Pedro and Carlos brought Mets back to “Back Pages” but, BUT, mgmt did not surround the young, upcoming player with good vets that had some life left in them, other than Delgado and tried to surround them with over the hill, over paid, waiting for DL types.
Shame on Mets that they let the last 4 years waste away by not brining in the needed help.
I know about the failures of 08 and 07 but a competent relief pitcher for the injured Wagner might have made the difference.
Jose is a draw at home, and he is dis-liked on the road cause of his many hand shakes and energy but he and David plus Pelf, Ike, Niese, Parnell and Thole are the future right now and hopefully the Wilpons will keep Jose whom I believe, from reading his comments, wants to stay in NY.
Next up, the future of David. Wow, how could Mets and Wilpons allow themselves to be put in this situation?
If attendance is down causing financial problems related to fan apathy then letting Jose go or trading him, no matter what the current financial situation is, will hurt Mets fan base and community endeavors, in my opinion.