6
2011
Reyes’ Agents Disappointed By Mets Lack Of Initiative
An article by Craig Lerner
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record on Reyes situation:
Reyes’ handlers are disappointed by the lack of initiative on the Mets’ part, but can they really be surprised? With the team’s mounting debt – including the $25 million loan from Major League Baseball that has yet to be repaid — the 2012 payroll will be reduced from $140 million to $110 million. Alderson indicated that figure could actually dip under $100 million before opening day. If so, that would represent the leanest war chest since 2004.
Without Reyes, “the Mets would be looking at a disaster” according to one talent evaluator, who thinks it would take at least four to five years to develop enough in-house talent to compete in the NL East. It’s a grim future, but the more immediate question is: If the Wilpons were intending to be this passive about Reyes’ free agency, why didn’t they just trade him in July?
My one and only criticism of this front office was not trading Reyes for a huge return in July, especially knowing that their chances of re-signing Reyes were slim to none.
For some reason they put aside their action plan and listened to the “Don’t Trade Reyes” fringe. Now they’ll get a couple of picks that are years away from the majors if they get there at all, instead of a couple of major league ready talents that would have made an immediate impact. I wonder if all the fans behind that movement understand they did more harm than good?
I’m not going to pretend that losing Reyes won’t set this team back several years, it will. But it didn’t have to be this way.
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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I’m not sure why the agents are disappointed. This was the plan as soon as the deadline passed. We all knew it, so why is the plan all of a sudden disappointing the agents? If they were so disappointed by a lack of effort, why didn’t they give Sandy a number when he asked for one?
Who says Alderson asked for a number? Alderson had plenty chance to negotiate all last offseason.
Really? It was huge news and reported everywhere that Alderson asked Team Reyes for a number and they didn’t even respond to him.
Big news??? Youre kidding right???
No, it was very widely circulated. Did you miss it?
Yeah he asked for a number in July when Reyes already told them he would not renegotiate DURING the season after being told NOT RIGHT NOW by Alderson in the offseason!
Reyes made his move last offseason and was rebuffed!
THAT is when Reyes said he would not talk contract DURING the season which is when Alderson asked for this number when he knew FULL WELL he was not going to get an answer as it would constitute going back on their promise not to negotiate during the season!
It happened October 31st. Last week.
Since it’s you making the claim I will ask if you have some reference that your using to suggest this was asked for.
You not one to make up crap afterall.
All I have ever heard from the FO about reyes is that they doubt they are going to get him, nothing about any conversations with him or his agent since July!
Rosenthal reported it in articles and tweets. On October 31st. Not July, not before the season. October 31st.
What Rosenthal said was reported by everyone…
Sandy didn’t ASK for a number what he said is he didn’t expect to GET a number!
Here is Rubin on the same Story Rosenthal never wrote one regarding Reyes!
http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7175070/new-york-mets-met-jose-reyes-representatives
The actual quote from Sandy:
“Take it out of the Jose Reyes context into just the general free agent context,” Alderson continued. “There are some situations where a player might indicate what it would take for him to forgo the free agent market. There are some situations where a club might try to make a preemptive offer to preclude that (open bidding).
“I don’t think either one of those things is going to happen in this case. I don’t think Jose is going to give us a number for which he would forgo free agency. I don’t think we’re in a position to make him what I would characterize as a preemptive offer.”
He didn’t ask for a number he ASSUMED he wouldn’t get one!
So NO he didn’t ask for a number!
And Reyes didn’t refuse what was not requested!
The best you can say is BOTH refuse to give a number!
And the truth is Sandy needs Reyes a lot more than Reyes need the Mets!
SO he should be the one most interested in getting something done quickly before Reyes goes beyond his Budgetary contraints!
Well this says different X, sorry…
“the Mets announced there would be no preemptive negotiating with free agent Jose Reyes”
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/sports_rotator/Klapisch_Backman_shows_loyalty_to_Mets.html
They may have asked for a number but they have no intentions of negotiating it in any way.
And if thats the tact why would you give a team a number who has no inclination to discuss it just wants to file it?
way different to ask them what it would take to get a deal done today than it is to start bidding against yourself.
Pray tell how do you bid against youself unless you keep throwing offers one after the other?
Making an offer is not bidding against yourself!
Making an offer is making an offer nothing more.
If he doesn’t take what you offer then say MAKE A COUNTER OFFER!
Thats when you ask the guy what he wants instead not before!
This bid against yourself crap is just excuse making as it has no real basis in any fact or reason!
You make a bid, You can’t bid against yourself until AFTER you have made an initial offer to bid up!
Yeah – because any GM that walks in a door is going to resign a guy that just came off of three years with time on the DL.
Bob Klapisch – ’nuff said another hack being paid to stir up gossip…….
Yeah Klapisch is a hack but your boy Martino you swear by. LMAO!
MY BOY? WOW, now you are making up crap, Martino is even worse, where do you get these lies from?
Hey you were one of those who asked for PROOF that Sandy wouldn’t negotiate wern’t you?
Well Jessup, Donal and you now have ALL the proof you need!
They are ready and willing to negotiate so where the hell is this WILLING to negotiate crap you guys say and insist Sandy was ready to do?
Where did it go? Did it leave the second Reyes might actually say YES to any offer made leaving Sandy no choice but to sign a player he really does not want?
Sorry Maniac that was meant for JoeDiaz
I can’t hear you. I just hear a bunch of sheep bleating. “Alderson baaaad”.
I love how the mantra is “agents suck” until you get a chance to bash the Mets.
It couldn’t possibly that Reyes’ agent is just playing for public opinion here. No, because the fact that they turned down a mid season offer doesn’t matter at all. I mean, it’s not like Reyes made it abundantly clear he had every intention of testing the market.
Interesting timing, though. They’ve had a full week to take all offers, yet they are still worried about what the Mets want to offer. Maybe there isn’t the bidding war people were anticipating.
Yeah I know you have an aversion to hearing the truth!
In fact the only one you seem to hear and believe is Jessup and when he speaks Up go the pom poms and the pyramid scheme building!
Metsie, can I just ask you a question?
Do you believe everything Scott Boras says when discussing his clients is true?
I would hope the logical answer comes out of your mouth.
Jessup do you believe saying to the Press “We have no shot at Reyes” from MET SOURCES is considered strong interest in him?
His Agent would like them to make an offer!
Truth is they (FO) are afraid if they make one Reyes might actually accept it and they will be stuck paying on a contract they don’t REALLY want!
THEY DO NOT WANT REYES! Name one quote since Exclusive rights started that tells you they actually do!
They think Reyes is too expensive at ANY price!
Which is why they haven’t made an offer they think is fair because saying it would expose the truth, They don’t want him at ANY price!
Can I tell you honestly, I don’t really believe much of anything said to the media DURING negotiation periods. Everybody, Reyes, Mets FO, Agents etc. use the media to create the story they want to sell.
It’s like the Yanks with Crawford. I believe they tell the truth NOW when they say their involvement in the Crawford bidding was solely done to drive the price up. They have no reason to lie now. There’s no reason for anybody involved in these negotiations to tell the absolute truth.
So I’m not gonna flip out about it, because again… I saw an UGLY negotiation period with Derek Jeter last year and there is no way anybody can tell me Jose Reyes means more to the Mets than Jeter to the Yankees and look how that went down
“Similarly, the Mets announced there would be no preemptive negotiating with free agent Jose Reyes.”
Not a rumor they actually ANNOUNCED!
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/sports_rotator/Klapisch_Backman_shows_loyalty_to_Mets.html
Yes Metsie, I do like how you ignored the second part of that paragraph
“the Mets are content to let Reyes test the open market and determine his worth”
If other teams want to pay him 120/7 yrs, they will have to let him walk. But if the offers he gets are in their wheelhouse thus creating a competitive market for him within their price range then they are players.
Is it a risk? Yes… but it’s one they have to take. They can’t bid against themselves, I don’t see why this is such a bad thing
“If other teams want to pay him 120/7 yrs, they will have to let him walk. But if the offers he gets are in their wheelhouse thus creating a competitive market for him within their price range then they are players.”
And with all the interest showed by the Mets so far, what makes you think Reyes is going to come back to them and not just take the offer he DOES have?
You seem to think that we have some right of first refusal. We don’t! We had exclusivity and showed no desire to deal!
And again the bidding against themselves crap….
Please define bidding against yourself, How does making a bid turn to bidding against yourself if you only give him ONE offer pray tell?
are the other 29 teams NOT going to make an offer because they too would be bidding against themselves?
Or is this just more philisophical crap that believes ANY bid is a mistake?
“And with all the interest showed by the Mets so far, what makes you think Reyes is going to come back to them and not just take the offer he DOES have?”
Well if Reyes and his agent do not understand the economics of baseball then I can’t really do anything for them now can I? If their best offer is 5/90 from Milwaukee and they don’t negotiate with the Mets then that is their problem. Something tells me they won’t just assume their client can only make X amount.
You’re also forgetting that the deadline to offer arbitration isn’t until the end of November. Thus, a conversation MUST take place unless you’re assuming suddenly that the Mets won’t even do that?
“Please define bidding against yourself, How does making a bid turn to bidding against yourself if you only give him ONE offer pray tell?”
See Olvier Perez.
How do you believe the Mets can know what Reyes’ market value is if he isn’t open to the market? What is the difference between the Cardinals making Pujols an offer he didn’t want, and letting him test the market?
There is none. They are both out there so their respective clubs can gain a more accurate reading on the market. If the Mets can sign Reyes to 5/90 why should they offer 7/120 right off the bat?
Here is the ECONOMICS of baseball…
You CAN NOT SIGN PLAYERS YOU DO NOT MAKE AN OFFER TO!
NO OFFER, NO SIGNING OF CONTRACT!
NO OFFER = NOT INTERESTED!
and if you had half a clue you would know there is NO DIFFERENCE of Economics for baseball than there is for ANY OTHER BUSINESS!
You have to SPEND MONEY to MAKE MONEY!
That is the FIRST basic principle of Economics!
the LESS you invest the LESS the RETURN!
We are going to save 20+ Mil on overhead by not signing reyes and lose the 30+ Mil on accounts recievable on Ticket sales, Jerseys, Concessions etc…
You didn’t save 20+ mil by letting him go you lost 10+ mil in profits instead!
BASIC economics!
Ah Oliver Perez eh?
How many BIDS did we make on him just one?
You can’t bid against yourself until you give the SECOND BID!
And you can’t give the SECOND BID until you have actually given him the FIRST BID!
So we can’t possibly bid against ourselves until we give him an INITIAL BID!
Bid against ourselves Bullshit Exposed!
What’s probably even more disappointing to Reyes is that he hasn’t had any official offers to digest just yet.He probably thought there would be 3-4 offers the 2st day of free agency.You should’ve listened during the summer Jose.
Pujols or Fielder haven’t had any official offers either but you pick on Reyes.
Actally have there been any free agent offers at all yet?
“Dopey Joe” Diaz strikes again!!!!!
It’s probably safe to say that Pujols and Fielder were waiting for Henry Blanco to set the market.
Yet Pujols and Fielder’s agents are not leaking to the press that they’re disappointed about their teams lack of initiative. You should probably go learn how to add and subtract and get hooked on phonics before you call a much more intelligent person dopey.
Maybe because they ARE showing some interests in talks that didn’t require an offer!
Funny – their Front Offices haven’t made them an offer, but yet you pick on the Mets from office………..
“Dopy Bayonne strikes again”!!!!!!!
Their front office isn’t dropping anonymous quotes in the paper everyday about how no way they are going to sign those guys either!
To “Dopey Joe” Diaz…
“The Marlins are so enamored with All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes that they were in contact with the player at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the moment the free agent signing period could begin”
Of course Iliterate Bayonne responds a day later.What does it have to do with your reference to Fielder and Pujols? You don’t even comprehend what you’re talking about.How can anyone be so dumb.Have you found a calculator that you can work with so you can figure out the Met payroll? I wouldn’t wanna see you get another massive headache adding up Wright,Bay and Santana’s salaries.
Actually i responded 7 minutes after your first dumb and WRONG post.
I’m just showing you today the news that Reyes was contacted one minute after he was declared a FA. Contrary to your original sarcastic and WRONG post.
“Dopey Joe” Diaz strikes again. You really are backwards aren’t you?
Alderson is hamstrung by budgetary constraints.
He can say he has a budget of X, but I’m sure that the Mets will fall at or under 100MM. That’s that. If they can fit Reyes into that budget, then they’ll sign him. Other than that, forget it.
Of course an agent is disappointed that any team (especially the current one) isn’t acting all desperate and bidding against themselves. Negotiations in man ways are a big game of chicken, and most teams are loath to make the first bid.
Also, even if they were gearing up to trade him for this theoretical motherload back, he hit the DL with leg issues in early July, right about when it would have happened. So if it didn’t eliminate his trade market, it sure had to slash the return offered.
Oh please any they aren’t bidding against themselves that would require making a bid in the first place that you then increased in a second bid!
They are not BIDDING at all!
They are just BIDING!
BIDING their time until Reyes signs elsewhere so they can lie and tell everyone we were close and offered 2 Mil less than what he got to cover their LACK OF NEGOTIATING ASS!
Reyes and his agents shouldn’t be surprised and it’s their own fault wanting their cake and eating it too. Reyes didn’t want to negotiate during the season and has himself to blame for current Mets strategy which is not to come begging as perhaps he thought they would. As I see it, this strategy will help him realize he could lose the opportunity to sign here by overplaying his hand and getting greedy.
I really want him to return but it’s he who opted to test the market at the same time saying for years he wants to be a Met for life. If he wants to be a Met for life, he should negotiate with the Mets right now, exclusively, and get a deal done. The Mets have no interest in setting the market and thereby pricing themselves out of it.
I think it’s clear why a portion of the fanbase are crying about not making an offer.They’re not used to a Met executive having the intelligence to not bid against himself and let someone else create a market for him.
Why should Sandy have extended him last offseason? He had another injury plagued season in 2010 and not a very good one at that.I wonder if he had the same type season in 2011 as he did in 2010 would the same people be clamoring for him to be paid.
Jose blew it as far as getting a big pay day from the Mets when he turned them away.After that he got hurt twice and screwed himself.If he wanted to stay all along he would’ve listened.
No we are not used to having a guy run a baseball team that thinks making it worse is improvment!
And Sandy didn’t want to negotiate before the season of now AFTER it!
He only tried during the season because he KNEW Reyes would say not now!
HE DOES NOT WANT TO SIGN REYES!
If he makes an offer Reyes MIGHT actually accept it and then he’s stuck with him!
When did Sandy tell you that?
Craig, I think that is a false premise. IMO, Sandy wasn’t going to get back more in trade for Reyes last midseason for just a half season rental player who wasn’t going to talk a contract extension with any team and who also was a ? to stay on the field compared to 2 draft picks in the 18-45 range in next year’s fairly solid draft in the top 70. Add that to the Mets own draft picks at 12 and app.70 and you’re talking a very possible top end sweet haul in next year’s draft for the Mets and Sandy who IMO rather spend 10MM in next year’s draft than spend 20MM for new players on the Mets 25 man roster next season.
I posted before that when the Einhorn deal fell through this could be the result. He was putting 200 mil into the team. I won’t say who was right or wrong because I am not an attorney and that is all water under the bridge. We are now hamstrung and other teams move forward and we tread water. The Dodgers are for sale and valued at 1,000,000,000 dollars and they have an old stadium. I wonder what the Mets are worth, MLB in a major league city. If the Mets are worth say 750 million dollars plus why wouldn’t the Wilpons and their partners sell. They could pay off their debts and concentrate on their other businesses. For the sake of the team, the players, employees and fans I wish they would consider this option.
well, the only partner is Fred’s BIL. so not like there are other people getting dragged down that can force the matter.
And it seems they just really want to own a baseball team.
at this point, they are just trying to survive financially. We don’t know what the Picard suits mean in terms of selling either (could it impact a potential settlement?)
I guess that the real decision point will be once the Madoff stuff is finally settled, and they can sort through the wreckage to see how much money is left (or more likely, how under water they are!)
at that point, may not be any option but to sell.
Mets “are looking for a disaster without Reyes”.You mean the last 3 years with Reyes on the roster was not a disaster?One trip to the playoffs in 8 years?Yeah,he’s irreplaceable..What a joke this stuuf is.
Yeah and we are making the playoff soon without him?
How can you justify critizing the Mets for NOT trading Reyes in July? First of all, Reyes was injured for a significant period leading up to the trade deadline. That, in itself, was enough to drop his value. There is little chance that Alderson could’ve secured equal value through trade to the quality of amateur talent he could select as compensation next June should Reyes sign elsewhere. The truth is that he would be lucky if the players he could’ve acquired in July would be equal to the two picks in the amateur draft.
So what you’re basically saying is that they would be better off with a couple of C+ or B- quality prospects (equal to Lucas Duda or Rebuen Tejeda) rather than higher ceiling talent that could conceviably become All Stars down the road. I’m sorry, while the prospects might prove safer bets to contribute in the Majors, I’d rather have the high ceiling talent that a 1st round pick + sandwhich pick could bring next June.
A game of high stakes poker is taking place. Right now we’re witnessing the two sides exchanging views. I’m not sure Jose’s agents are to be taken at face value. It makes for a sympathetic story but not much else.
Silly article. Don’t go blaming the fans for the Mets failure to sign Reyes. The fans did what fans are supposed to do and that is to support the players they like. We are now in a Moneyball game with Jose’ at risk. There is slim chance that he will be signed by the Cheapball Genius. Our only hope is that Jose’s stints on the DL have diminished his value and other GM’s either stay away or offer low priced contracts. If that happens, perhaps the Mets sign Jose to a Cheapie. The odds are low in my opinion. If any GM overlooks the DL time and sees real value, kiss Jose’ goodbye. I think the odds of that happening is about 85%. Time will tell and I think it stinks that we are about to lose Jose’. But if we do, the last place to place the blame is on the heads of the fans.
The FANS did not go to the stadium which is what constitues SUPPORT of the team built and paid for!
If you don’t spend your money at the stadium then you did not support your favorite player nor contribute to paying even one penny of his salary!
Watching on TV and saying GO REYES is not supporting the team or the player!
And when you do go to support that player, he takes himself out after the 1st inning. Go figure.
Maybe if you went to see him the REST of the year it wouldn’t have been the last game you got to see him play and there would be no reason to say goodbye!
You did know that Collins set the rule to prtect Reyes’ hurt hammy that he doesn’t play in day games after night games!
He shouldn’t have been in the game at all if that rule was being enforced!
He didn’t win the batting title on that AB!
He won it the previous 161 games you didn’t bother to go to!
And what do you care you don’t want to see him playing here anyway!