9
2011
What the Loss of Jose Reyes Means for the Mets in 2012
An article by Former Writers
For shortstop Jose Reyes, the 2011 season was the ninth season of his career with the New York Mets, and Mets fans certainly knew the day was coming when Reyes became a free agent. The Mets have been bleeding cash for several years now, and even the move into their new facility at CitiField in time for the start of the 2009 season couldn’t stop the negative cash flow. Owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz are potentially on the hook for $386 million in the wake of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, and MLB has stepped in to help keep the Mets afloat during the past year.while it turned out to be his bestseason, it also turned out to be his final season in a Mets uniform.
With all of these factors in place, there was virtually no way for the Mets to offer Reyes anything close to what the market would bear for his services. So, now that Reyes has signed on the dotted line and has taken his talents to South Beach, how does his departure affect the Mets going forward?
For starters, it’s pretty hard to replace the reigning National League batting champion, but the Mets will now have the opportunity to see what 22-year-old rising star Ruben Tejada can do at the shortstop position full-time.
Tejada put up solid numbers for the Mets in 2011, spelling Reyes at short during his two DL stints and actually putting up comparable numbers to Reyes in the second half of 2011. Tejada hit .303 in 48 games during the second half, while Reyes hit .305. Tejada doesn’t possess the combination of speed, hitting and occasional power flashed by Reyes in his nine seasons with the Mets, but Tejada does have the ability to hit .300, steal 25-30 bases and provide sound if not spectacular defense at his position.
Assuming that GM Sandy Alderson isn’t tempted with a deal to send third baseman David Wright packing, the Mets will have offensive weapons with Wright and first baseman Ike Davis, who should be fully healthy by spring training following a debilitating ankle injury that ended his 2011 season after just 36 games.
Both Wright and Davis have 25 HR-100 RBI potential, and while left fielder Jason Bay has struggled in his time with the Mets, that potential is there for him as well.
Recent trades and signings by Alderson have bolstered the Mets’ bullpen as well. In a flurry of moves earlier this week, Alderson engineered a trade with the San Francisco Giants that delivered relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez and outfielder Andres Torres for center fielder Angel Pagan, and signed relievers Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch, significantly bolstering the back end of the Mets’ bullpen.
Offensively, Torres will likely be the starting center fielder and leadoff batter, with Daniel Murphy moving back to second base full-time and likely batting second. Davis, Wright and Bay will occupy the middle of the Mets’ order, giving the Mets a solid if not spectacular front five in their batting order.
While Reyes’ departure certainly leaves a hole in terms of production, the addition of Torres in addition to the developing talents of Tejada and Murphy could provide some hope for the Mets in 2012. However, in the ever-competitive NL East, it still may not be enough.
About the Author: Former Writers
19 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- Alex68: on So Where Are All Those Moneyball Players?: Donal, Capuano was signed at $1.50 million,...
- Metsie: on So Where Are All Those Moneyball Players?: Good Post Phillip... Omar was a good evaluator...
- Alex68: on So Where Are All Those Moneyball Players?: 2011 The bullpen was already bad and...
- Donal: on So Where Are All Those Moneyball Players?: Hairston did well of the bench in...
- Donal: on So Where Are All Those Moneyball Players?: 2011 The bullpen was already bad and...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5391 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
jason, i must say you gotta be the most optimistic fan out there, you still somehow think jason bay will give us anything? that is amazing, after 2 years you’d find one or two people who still believe.. can’t argue with that, my high hopes are in lucas duda though.. him and ike have 25+ hr power projection, hope it comes trough..
on to tejada, i like everything you wrote, i like you’re optimism. but you’re stretching it a little bit when saying “22-year-old rising star”, look, i like tejada a lot, i do think he’ll hit 280 to 300, but 25 sb’s? i am not sure of that, also, i think, and i really hope i am wrong, but i think he’ll struggle big time this year, more will have to do with the pressure to replace the best player in mets franchise history at SS, sandy put this kid to fail by assigning him the SS position NOW instead of 3 or 4 years down the road, but since he’s cheap and we won’t be competing anytime soon is ok to watch him struggle and damage his psych. unless they get hansley, which imo they should, this team is going nowhere fast..
Alex I agree with most of what you said here, except for the “Hansley” part. We would still be going nowhere next year with or without him. Besides, I know it’s your dream of the moment but you have to understand all the reasons that it is not happening so it really is like the old Manny watch… pointless.
Now for the praise:
Expecting anything above a .799 OPS for Bay is just too optimistic.
The team is being built around those to LH hitters for sure. They are high OBP, power guys for cheap.
Tejada will most likely not hit as well as last year and at this point he is not a stolen base threat, he never has been. I think Terry will do a great job of bringing him along and taking the pressure off of him, however.
Unless Torres can regain is 2010 (and at age 34, it seems unlikely) form he won’t last long as leadoff hitter. TC has stated he doesn’t want to put Tejada in the leadoff spot so I guess Muphy would be next in line. Also, I’m not sure Tejada is able to steal 20+ bases in a season. That would give us a batting order that could look like something like this:
1. Murphy
2. Tejada/Torres
3. Wright
4. Davis
5. Bay
6. Duda
7. Thole
8. Torres/Tejada
Possible Bay and Duda can switch places but I like the righty-lefty-combos this way. Either way, the offense is much less potent without Reyes. Heck,
Swede, that’s a lineup that looks pathetic!!!!! we may well have 3 automatics outs in the lineup, 3 unknowns, an unclutch as hell batter and daniel murphy.. starve for runs this year….
I didn’t say it was a great lineup, I just predicted what it would look like with the players available today. I also belive the group is better than you make it out to be, but that is a matter of opinion. To be able to put up decent numbers, Wright and Bay must find at least some of their former sleves and Davis, Murphy and Duda hit on par or better than they did last year. We scored most runs in the NL East last year, 5th most in the NL. Without Beltran and Reyes, this number will likely go down even if Wright, Davis, Murphy and Duda stays healthy all year.
The Mets biggest problem going into 2012 isn’t hitting though, it’s pithching.
The Mets biggest problem going into 2012 isn’t hitting though, it’s pithching”
well, if it’s pitching, then hitting is a really, really close second… trust me, this team is not as good offensively..
See my comment below that you still will not acknowledge. We just don’t know what the offense will bring. As they proved the 2nd half last year it could be just fine but there are a lot of ifs.
Maybe?
You keep ignoring the fact that the Mets in the 2nd half last year minus Murphy, Beltran and minus Reyes for a significant part with Wright struggling, actually scored MORE runs on average than they did in the first half.
Reading this on CBS-
-INF Daniel Murphy (torn MCL right knee) expects to be ready for spring training, although the Mets are unsure what position he’ll be able to play with both knees now in braces.
.
I can’t see Murphy playing a full time 2nd base on two bad knees.
Which is most likely why he will be traded but I could see them giving 2B one more try if it is something even he still wants to do.
With 2 bad knees, the logical expectation is that Murphy is most likely only useful as a PH’er. Can such a player actually be expected to play the field every day? He’s never even really demonstrated the ability to play a position well even when healthy. It seems to me that Turner is the better option for 2B especially since he has demonstrated his ability to be a clutch hitter.
As a coach, just because you have two knee braces does not mean you have 2 “bad” knees. It does mean however that you are concerned about protecting them.
I still think that because of his bat they will try him one more time at 2B, unless of course they are able to trade him for a CF or SP.
Just one Chase Utley or Shane Victorino well timed dirty take out slides will wipe out Murphy for a third season at second base. And I believe the next time Murphy will be done for good. He has sustained too much damage as it is.
If your knees are fine you don’t wear braces on them. So yes, he has 2 bad knees and one has to wonder how that will limit his usefulness. And any attempt to trade him will be very handicapped by his poor fielding skills and those 2 knee braces. What self-respecting GM would offer either a SP or CF (as you suggest) for Dan Murphy? That’s would be irresponsible. Counting on Dan Murphy for any meaningful role is strictly wishful thinking.
If Alderson can pull off a Pagan-type deal for Pelfrey, bringing back a decent starter and a backup catcher, I’ll be much more optimistic about 2012.
Yeah honestly I am hoping somehow he moves him for a starting CF and catching depth would be nice.
IMO they should go for Ryan Theriot. He can bat leadoff and be a good utility infielder if not everyday second baseman.
Kind of hard for your utility guy to bat lead-off. Also, besides much better defense, what does he offer over a guy like Justin Turner?
Unless there is another trade for a starting middle infielder of some sort then we better hope that Justin Turner will improve his defense at second base. He has proved to be a good hitter in clutch situations unless last year was a fluke. If Daniel Murphy could bring back something decent in a trade, I would pull the trigger in a heartbeat. He was a below average fielder to start with and with two bad knees he is not going to be able to hang in there on pivots and second base never mind the decreased range he will have. A hard worker, and a team guy but probably a tremendous liability in the field. He should be a DH in the American league and his showing at the plate last year before his injury should stir some interest if he 8is able to be showcased in spring training.