Today’s rumor mill is spinning regarding the Mets plan’s to pursue Jose Reyes.
According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets front office plans to let the market set itself for Reyes.
Sandy Alderson knows Reyes wants to test the free agent waters. It would be stupid to make an offer now. The Mets WILL SPEND to bring Reyes back. But WHY would Sandy Alderson make a huge offer now before seeing what other teams are offering. Other teams could be wary of his injuries just like the Mets. It’s possible other teams will prefer 5 year deals, which I think Alderson already assumes. I doubt Alderson has any problem giving Reyes 5 years with options. It’s when the discussion jumps to 6 or 7 years that the thought process tends to think 2 draft picks.
At 5 years the Mets can spend like any other MLB team. How many teams are going to go above the 100 million threshold if 5 years is the table-setter? But when the discussion starts increasing to 21-22 million a year or more, I could see the Mets back off and take the draft picks. Sandy Alderson is not going to spend more then he thinks Jose Reyes is worth. Who knows if he even values Jose Reyes as a 5/100 player? He may set the limit per year closer to the 18 per range.
It’s all a mystery at this point. But I PRAISE the stance the front office is taking. For all they know their offer could be the best on the table. Why “overspend” dare I say if the market hasn’t even set itself yet. Jose Reyes clearly wants to get the Free Agent attention. The guy is like a giddy school kid on the diamond. He is going to eat up all the attention.
So just like when you find a girl worth keeping, set her free and let her make sure what she really wants is waiting for her back home. If he wants to be a Met and continue his life in Long Island then God Bless. I will be a lot happier with him hitting leadoff and playing SS for the Mets in 2012. But if he should chase a crazy contract from *shield your eyes* the Phillies, then he is not the person I always thought he was. I’m still in the small % of Mets fans who thinks Reyes will be back.
P.S. how about that game last night? Best World Series game I’ve ever seen.
