The Mets have decided they will bring back veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera for the 2018 season but that won’t stop them from considering a Jose Reyes return as well according to Marc Carig of Newsday. Reyes officially became a free agent on Thursday.
Carig also mentions that the Mets would see Reyes as a utility player like they did in 2017 when he led the team in plate appearances with 561.
Reyes, 34, finished the 2017 season with a .246/.315/.413 slash line with 15 homers and 58 RBI with 24 stolen bases. Reyes also had a -0.6 WAR, 94 wRC+ and a .312 wOBA in 145 games. In the second half, he hit .288/.356/.472 with 14 stolen bases.
In the field, Reyes committed eight errors, five of which came at the hot corner. There, he also had a -5 DRS and a -2.9 UZR. At shortstop where spent a majority of his time, he fared even worse.
He had a whopping -15 DRS and -1.0 UZR. At this point in his career, he is destined to be a second baseman. He was good for -5 DRS there, but didn’t commit an error and had a 0.4 UZR in 207.1 innings.
The Mets already have Wilmer Flores, T.J. Rivera and Cabrera in the fold to play some combination of third and second base. They also have backup infielders Matt Reynolds and Gavin Cecchini on the 40-man roster.
