Thoughts from Joe D.
I will be very shocked if the Toronto Blue Jays hang onto Alex Anthopoulos as the team’s general manager after this season. He took a team with a talent rich farm that was once ranked among baseball’s best and overturned it for aging and expensive players that have sunk the team to the bottom of the division instead of the top as he had hoped.
A new GM will quickly look to bring some balance to the team and unload some of these big contracts and he’ll certainly be willing to eat some money in the process, just as the Mets did when they traded Carlos Beltran and ate 90% of what he was still owed to get a better prospect.
The Mets have no shortstops on the way. Their best prospects are still years from being major league ready if they even make it that far – it’s still too early to tell.
They have soured on Ruben Tejada, who was never really a shortstop to begin with.
If the Jays are willing to eat 30-40% of what remains on Jose Reyes’ contract, it could happen. Jose Reyes and his wife still live in New York and it’s where he always wanted to end his career, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.
He didn’t leave on the best of terms with Sandy Alderson who admitted he could have handled the entire negotiations better than he did when he led everyone to believe re-signing Reyes was a top priority. But I don’t think anything happened that can’t be fixed, and the Mets do need a shortstop and one who has a proven track record like Reyes.
From a PR standpoint, the Mets owners would do cartwheels over such a reunion – I can assure you of that.
Will it happen? Probably not, but it’s certainly not impossible….
Original Post
I didn’t want to deal with the thought of losing Reyes back in 2011. I grew up loving Jose and everything he represented — as Jose went, the Mets went…and of course, as the Mets went, so did I. It’s always easier to write about winning baseball. When this off-season spins around, the Mets could be looking at yet another consecutive losing season — par for the course with Sandy Alderson — but it doesn’t mean that things won’t turn around in 2013. The foundation is set for the Mets to finally make a push into the playoff hunt in 2014, but not without a few changes.
The main one I’d like to see put into action, however, is trading for Jose Reyes. If you asked me what our most glaring need for 2014 would be, I’d actually say shortstop. Our rotation and even our bullpen is likely going to be our greatest strength, with names like Rafael Montero, Noah Syndergaard, Jack Leathersich, Jeff Walters, and Jeurys Familia all potentially going to find roles with the Mets in ’14. The outfield might be a little weak, but there’s the possibility of re-signing Byrd, going out to get Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo, or sticking with the homegrown kids. Personally, I wouldn’t count out Cesar Puello or Cory Vaughn as potential pieces for the future as well, while Juan Lagares and Matt den Dekker are perfect platoon partners.
Going back to shortstop, our only real answer at the position is Ruben Tejada. Tejada struggled this year — not only with the bat, but often times with the glove, and people began to question his real value to the team. Now, Tejada’s still really young, turning 24 in October, and it’s very conceivable to say that he could turn it around.
But hell, I want Reyes back. I want that switch-hitting, dynamic, and Gold-Glove caliber SS back in a Mets uniform and leading off for us in the 2014. Obviously, Alderson won’t even pick up the phone unless he knows that Toronto will eat some of the money left on Reyes’ deal, which is a completely respectable idea. However, grabbing a discounted Reyes for four years who could potentially play All-Star baseball for us once again could turn out to be a huge move for the Mets.
Alderson already connected with the Jays last year to send them Dickey — and Montero and Murphy would be a great start to get this deal underway if he wanted to make this happen. What do you guys think?
