The Mets lost 11-4 yesterday in the earliest game of the year. Just after the clock struck 11 am, Jose Reyes tried to wake up his team with a leadoff home run. However, instead of hitting the ball, his team hit the snooze button all game.

It’s a very frustrating time for the Mets as fans find themselves clamoring to find something they can preface with, “Well, at least…” Yes, the Mets have badly lost two straight games to the Nationals. Well, at least Jose Reyes has been tearing the cover off the ball.

In his last 10 games, Reyes has hit .344/.371/.656 with a home run, three doubles, two triples, four runs scored and four RBIs. While his glove has been frozen in a block of ice, his bat has thawed in time for the trade deadline.

It is unfortunate that it’s the point in the season where we look at every Met that is over the age of, say, 32 and say, “Who would want them and what could we get for them?” While Reyes is no Gold Glover anymore, he is still quick enough to steal bases and is versatile enough in the field to draw interest. The caveat has been his bat, but that is starting to change.

Having hit .344 in his last 10 games is impressive, but it is a small sample size. If you zoom out a bit to his last 23 games, he still has hit a respectable .273/.337/.519 with three doubles, two triples, and four home runs. His BABIP during that span is .279, so if he had some better luck, that slash line would be a little more inflated.

As we crawl closer to July 31st, even the most optimistic Mets fans (myself included) are accepting the fact that it’s time to sell. Most Mets have price tags on them, and Jose Reyes’ tag has been steadily rising over the past few weeks. While his overall defense is below average, his ability to play shortstop, second base, and third base as well as his bat, speed, and stealing ability should appeal to some teams, even as a backup infielder.

One thing is for sure, though. As Joe D thoroughly laid out earlier this morning, it’s time to put a high priority on defense. Jose Reyes at shortstop should not be part of that plan, whether he’s hitting or not. His 0.0 oWAR does not compare to his -0.6 dWAR. He is objectively not hitting enough to make up for his poor defense, and if the Mets are to put a priority on defense, which they should, Reyes has got to go.