Jose Reyes told Constantino Viloria at the Spanish-language New York paper La Opinion that he is open-minded about his future with the Mets. As in past interviews, Reyes dismissed the possibility that he would play anywhere but with the Mets, the organization that scouted and signed him as a teenager in the Dominican Republic. The team holds an $11MM option on Reyes for 2011, which seems a no-brainer given the options on the free agent market.
However, Reyes added a new twist by telling Viloria that while he would prefer to stay at short, he "hasn't ruled out" changing positions. More specifically, Reyes mentions that "I played several games at second base for the Mets," referring to the 43 games he logged at the keystone in 2004.
Reyes' preferences aside, there is an argument to be made for bumping the 27-year-old one slot to the right. First of all, one of the team's top position prospects (along with Fernando Martinez and others) is 18-year-old shortstop Wilmer Flores, who has been showing promise at the lower levels of the Mets system—though some see his future outside of the infield. In any event, once the Mets are free of their commitment to Luis Castillo at the end of 2011 (or sooner by trade), there is no ready replacement within the upper levels of the system save Ruben Tejada, a natural shortstop like Reyes but without his speed or offensive ceiling.
In terms of offense, Reyes' .735 OPS this season compares little better to other second basemen than it would have back in 2004, when the likes of Jeff Kent and Alfonso Soriano were setting the power bar. For now, his production puts him firmly on the Orlando Hudson watershed line (.729 OPS), well below boppers like Cano/Pedroia/Kinsler/Utley but still above the slappy types like Schumaker/Theriot/Barmes.
However, after a few more months of an injured Castillo, Alex Cora and fliers like Tejada, Reyes' willingness to switch could resurface as a topic of discussion, especially as it may give the team the flexibility to either finally trade Castillo or package one of the shortstop prospects for pitching, as has been bandied recently.
I have no idea if the Mets would entertain trading Reyes, but I would love for the Cubs to pick him up and slot him at 2nd base with Castro.
We badly need more speed on the team and I think Reyes would hit well in the friendly confines.
I know the Mets are wanting Lilly, and maybe if we packaged Zambrano and/or Derrek Lee and/or some others, it would be nice to pull off some type of mega deal if the Mets could add viable pieces as well.
horrible
he’s a great defensive shortstop…despite his injuries he makes difficult plays look extremely routine…maybe when he’s in his mid 30s we can entertain this conversation again..but he’s not going anywhere…he is the mets
actually he is not that great defensively.
is he a liability? no
is he an asset? no
Yes he’s an asset. You underestimate how few decent defensive shortstops there are.
Love José but I can think of a lot more important things the Mets should be worrying about….
Why would the mets move Reyes from short. He is at least an average defender at the position and has a career 4.2 UZR/150 there. He is at -1.4 there this year but that could be because he did not want to fully push his hamstring. Flores won’t be a SS and Tejada might not hit enough to be an everyday player. Why the Mets would even entertain the idea is stupid. His BB% should rise a little from the 5.6% it is at this year and reyes should provide a .750-.800 OPS.
To the naked eye Reyes has been stellar at short this year. His uzr is skewed a little I think because in the beginning of the season he was just getting his legs under him and playing in games for the first time in a year.
Right now the Mets have a lot more pressing needs than worrying about possibly, maybe, eventually, perhaps moving Reyes another position some day. What say we keep our focus on pitching that doesn’t come from the scrap heap…cause that’s where it’s at!
There are what, ten good legit shortstops in baseball who can hit a lick? Don’t move one!
Besides, Wilmer Flores is two years away and not a shortstop.
Reyes is on the verge of winning his first gold glove…..why on earth would the Mets consider moving him from shortstop
I’m not a Mets fan, in fact I hate them, but why would you move Reyes when he plays so well in his current position. Move the 18 year old guy to second base and you solve all you’re problems. If Reyes was not in his 20’s anymore, then I’d certainly understand.
This is complete BS. Don’t believe it for a second. I’m surprised this even got published.