Jose Reyes, going into his contract year, has just been tearing up the majors, to say the least. Now with Reyes out for 2-6 more days due to the death of his grandmother, there is a legitimate risk that Reyes might cool off after being away from baseball for that amount of time. With few star players left healthy on the Mets roster, Reyes slowing down would be detrimental to the Mets offense.
The 27-year old speedster is on pace for an MVP-caliber year, leading all of MLB in hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases and multi-hit games. In addition, Reyes has batted an incredible .335 with a .382 OBB and .493 SLG. He also has 112 total bases, third most in the National League, only behind Jay Bruce and Ryan Braun.
Reyes will be a free agent following the completion of the 2011 season and will likely sign a deal in the ballpark of Carl Crawford’s 7-year, $142 million contract, even though Fred Wilpon doesn’t think so.
When Reyes returns, there is a real possibility that he could slow down a bit while trying to get his mind back into the game. Hopefully though, Reyes can comeback and hit the ground running, literally. He is on pace for a career year, so this small break from baseball hopefully will not impede the stellar season that he is having. But with how well he has started, it is hard to imagine him not continuing this caliber of play throughout the season.
Whether Reyes is still in Flushing come August 1st or not, I am sure all of us want to see Reyes perform to the best of his ability. Of course preferably still as a Met, but even if he does get dealt or signed somewhere else, he will always be a Met at heart, and I’m sure any fan will wish him luck wherever he may be following the 2011 season.
In the absence of Ike Davis and David Wright, the Mets offense is a shell of what it is fully capable of, so the incredible start that Reyes is off to needs to continue, and I am sure it will, if the Mets have any hope of salvaging the 2011 season.
