When the Mets decided to bring shortstop Jose Reyes back into the fray, after he elected free agency and departed after the 2011 season, walking away the as batting champ, many were split on how much the 33-year-old had left in him. After all, Reyes had been routinely injured after he signed his six-year, $106 million contract with the Miami Marlins along with his time spent in Toronto and Colorado.
And then of course, Reyes was charged with domestic violence against his wife Katherine last October in Maui, something that has become a horrendous trend in athletics in recent years. But the charges were later dropped by the authorities, due to Reyes’ wife’s refusal to speak with prosecutors. Major League Baseball on the other hand stepped in with their new policy on domestic violence, one that was put in place in the summer of 2015, and suspended Reyes for the first 51 games of the 2016 season.
When Reyes was reinstated by the Colorado Rockies at the end of May, it seemed to be a forgone conclusion that the Rockies wanted no part of Reyes on their roster. That’s when the Mets made the decision for a homecoming, bringing back a fan favorite that had been with the organization since he was a teenager. Sometimes, there really is no place like home.
It appears that Reyes is not taking his second chance for granted with the Mets, flashing his trademark smile on a nightly basis, celebrating in fashion as he did so many times with teammates during his first tenure, and bringing an intensity and energy that was desperately missing from this year’s squad.
With another three hits in last night’s 7-4 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, Reyes continues to rake since being reinstated from the disabled list. Since August 13, Reyes has gone 15-for-42 (.357), with nine runs, five walks, four R.B.I., and three stolen bases. Reyes has raised his OBP to a respectable .336, and now has an OPS over .800. In his 10 games played in August, Reyes has multi-hit games in four of them, and has almost as many walks (5), as he does strikeouts (6).
“He’s still electric on the bases and loves to play and really brings that energy that we need, especially this time of year when fatigue is starting to be a factor,” manager Terry Collins said. “His energy and the fact he’s missed so much this year, I still think he’s got plenty to offer.”
Having Reyes at the top of the lineup finally gives the Mets a real leadoff hitter, something they sorely missed this season after Curtis Granderson had one of his finer years in 2015, posting a 5.1 WAR according to FanGraphs, only to regress this year in that role. While Reyes has seen his OBP hover near the .320 mark the last three seasons, he was routinely in the .350’s during his career with the Mets, and now seems to be getting on base more regularly than in recent memory.
And his patience at the plate is showing, evident by his base-on-ball percentage of 7.6%, up 2.6% from 2015, and 1.8% from 2014. And in the short time Reyes has been back with the Mets, he’s posted a near 1.0 WAR, meaning over a full 162-game season he’d be near a 6.0 WAR player if keeping on his current path.
That type of player is routinely making tens of millions of dollars a season, yet Reyes is only making the pro-rated major league minimum since the Rockies are on the hook for the remainder of his salary through 2018. Reyes had a stretch from 2006-08 where he was routinely near a 6.0 WAR player, and then again in his walk year of 2011. Since his departure from the Mets, he never registered higher than a 4.0 WAR, his first season in Miami in 2012.
And of course, one would be remiss not to mention the speed element of his game, an intriguing attribute considering David Wright was leading the team with three stolen bases for a majority of the year. In 26 games, Reyes has six swipes, which averaged over a full season would give him around 40 stolen bases, which means more runners in scoring position which could lead to more runs and wins. Of course, with what’s been a recurring theme this year for this lineup, the Mets would need to put up much better numbers with RISP to score those extra runners, but I digress.
The point is, Reyes offers a skill set that is extremely beneficial to this team, and at a fraction of the cost. Since the Rockies are on the hook for more than $38 million for his remaining salary, the Mets are paying only the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum this season, and have a team option on him for the league minimum in 2017 as well. This gives the Mets an opportunity to assess how he looks this season, with eyes toward 2017 and what he can offer them then as well.
Perhaps he’ll be a backup infielder in similar fashion as Wilmer Flores, except not playing first base. Or maybe the Mets turn to him to man third on a full-time basis depending on the health of Wright? Or he takes over second base if they don’t re-sign Neil Walker in the offseason. At the very least, Reyes offers a solid platoon/bench player, who switch hits, generates runs with his speed, and gets on base, all for the major league minimum.
Terry Collins has been impressed with Reyes so far, and what’s he’s accomplished in the short amount of time he’s been back with the orange and blue.
“He’s become huge, and we’ve seen why,” Collins continued. “This guy creates runs when he gets on base and that is something we’ve needed, and I still think against right-handed pitching, [Curtis] Granderson is the perfect guy to hit behind him.” (NY Post)
Getting second chances doesn’t always happen, or always go as planned. But clearly Reyes is making the most of his, and looks to do so for the club who first gave him a chance at baseball, and has his eyes on helping his club make a late season push into the playoffs. If Reyes can continue to turn back the clock and give the fans more Reyes circa the mid 2000s, then this could turn out to be one of Sandy Alderson’s best moves yet. As the R&B group Peaches & Herb sang in their 1978 hit, “reunited and it feels so good.” That’s the sense so far in the Reyes/Mets reunion.
