Jose Reyes will go down as an all time great Met. Our first ever batting champion ranks sixth in batting average, second in runs, third in hits and of course, first in triples and stolen bases. Reyes will forever be loved by Mets fans.
This offseason, the Mets could be searching for a shortstop, and SNY’s Gary Cohen would love nothing better than to see Reyes back in Flushing. He raised the possibility of bringing back Jose Reyes twice during the last two broadcasts of the season.
“This team needs to do something bold this offseason, and Jose Reyes gives them the catalyst and the leadoff hitter they have lacked – well since Jose Reyes. Oh and did I mention he plays shortstop.”
In 655 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this season, Reyes batted .288 with 33 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 94 runs scored. While batting leadoff he drove in 51 runs while posting a .726 OPS – fifth best among all major league shortstops.
After suffering a gruesome ankle injury in 2013 while sliding into second base, many thought his running game was finished. But Reyes had a great season on the basepaths, stealing 30 bases while being caught only twice, for a 93.8 stolen base rate, third best in the league.
The big question is, what would it take for the Mets to acquire him?
Offensively, the Jays mashed at the plate with a .736 OPS that was the second best mark in the league. They also ranked second in the AL with 177 home runs, third in On-Base Pct. (.323 ) and fourth with 723 runs scored,
However, Blue Jays pitchers ranked 9th in the AL across the board in ERA (4.00), BAA (.253), WHIP (1.31) and strikeouts (1199) this season.
Assuming they will try to bolster and upgrade their rotation and bullpen, they might be tempted by Mets starters Jon Niese, Dillon Gee or Bartolo Colon, and perhaps a bullpen arm in Jenrry Mejia or Vic Black.
Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has acknowledged a need at second base, so perhaps Daniel Murphy would be very appealing to them as well. Mark Simon of ESPN New York seems to think so.
The bottom line is the Mets have the pieces to make it happen and they likely wouldn’t have to part with any top prospects to acquire Reyes.
The holdup could be the money. Reyes is owed another $66 million in guaranteed dollars through 2017 – his age 34 season. There’s also a club option for 2018.
Gary Cohen seems to think the Jays will pick some of that contract up to get something done. “And if Toronto was willing to eat some of that contract, the Mets would be crazy not to consider it.”
“Bringing Reyes back would be electrifying. It would excite the fan base while bolstering the top of the order.”
Of course, one must consider that Reyes has lost a lot of time to the disabled list over the years. But in fairness, the last two injuries were of the freakish variety. Still, since 2005, Reyes has played in an average of 132.4 games per season and he’s started 150 or more games in a season only five times over his 12-year career.
What do you think? Is Gary Cohen out of his mind, or is he really onto something here?
