There are times a manager is stuck playing a player because he doesn’t have a better option. There are times when a manager is stuck playing a player because that player has a big contract, and the team wants to try to extract as much value from the player as they can. There are other times when you play a player because you legitimately believe that player will improve.
Then there is Terry Collins continuously putting Jose Reyes in the lineup.
You cannot possibly justify putting Reyes in the lineup now. In 58 games this season, Reyes is hitting .186/.261/.294 with nine doubles, two triples, three homers, 18 RBI, and nine stolen bases.
Among major league third basemen, Reyes ranks dead last in batting average and slugging. He also has the second worst on-base percentage. His -1.1 WAR is the third worst among all MLB infielders. Overall, he’s a bad hitter.
You can’t even argue Reyes is hot. He is currently 2 for his last 30, and he hasn’t had an extra base hit in over two weeks. You could call it a funk, but look at his numbers for the season. This is who Jose Reyes is now.
He’s also not much of a fielder. In 270 innings at third, he has posted a -4 DRS and a -2.2 UZR. It’s a short sample size for sure, but it lines up with the numbers he posted in 427 innings at third last year when he had a -6 DRS and a -2.5 UZR. And all of this lines up with the eye test.
It’s not like Collins is stuck playing Reyes. First and foremost, Reyes is making the major league minimum, and he is going to be a free agent after the season. There’s no need to try to save any face by playing Reyes. Also, there is a much better option.
Wilmer Flores is in the midst of a career year. He’s hitting .326/.349/.507 with eight doubles, a triple, five homers, 18 RBI, and a stolen base.
Flores is not the platoon bat he once was either. Against right-handed pitching this year, he is hitting .298/.327/.462 with six doubles, a triple, five homers, and 14 RBI. Since May 1, Flores is hitting .366/.398/.573 off of right-handed pitching.
In essence, Flores is not just the Mets best choice at third base, right now. He is in fact, the best hitter in the Mets lineup. Sure, he will likely be cool off and be supplanted by another player on the roster. However, that player is likely to be Michael Conforto or Yoenis Cespedes. It’s not going to be Jose – Freaking – Reyes.
By the way, if you are interested in fielding your best defensive infield, Flores still needs to play ahead of Reyes. In 197.1 innings at third this year, Flores has a 1 DRS and a -2.3 UZR. No, those aren’t great numbers, but they are far better numbers than Reyes is posting. And again trust your eyes.
Wow, to play Jose Reyes over a red hot Wilmer Flores, who is hitting both lefty and righty pitching with aplomb, is almost unforgivable.
— Metsmerized – Joe D (@MetsmerizedJoeD) June 12, 2017
Overall, there is absolutely no reason why Reyes is in the starting lineup. Frankly, you could argue the Mets should have kept Sean Gilmartin and designated Reyes for assignment. At the very least, that would have kept T.J. Rivera, who is having a much better season than Reyes, on the roster.
But no, Reyes has been in the starting lineup for four straight games and five out of the last six games while appearing in all six games. That’s more than any other infielder on the roster. It needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
