However, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. So Mets fans are stuck with a owner who’s strapped for cash just when Jose Reyes, the Mets star shortstop, is primed to hit free agency.
New York Post
Jose Reyes’ batting title is a thing of the past, just like the pleas from fans at Citi Field, begging the shortstop to stay in New York and for the Mets to pay him.
Now, reality sets in.
After deciding not to talk contract any further during the season in June, the Mets’ five-day exclusive window to negotiate with the talented but fragile Reyes begins today, with all free agents set to hit the open market Thursday.
The Mets aren’t going to blow away the 28-year-old before he tests the waters, and they have to decide if they want to break the bank on one of the game’s most dynamic players or if his injury problems -- Reyes spent two stints on the DL in 2011 with left hamstring strains and has missed decent chunks of time each of the past three years -- are too much to risk.
How the Mets handle Reyes -- or how he handles them -- will in large part dictate the rest of the team’s offseason. General manager Sandy Alderson has stated repeatedly next year’s payroll will be down considerably from a season ago, settling around $100 million to $110 million.
And with Johan Santana ($24 million), Jason Bay ($16 million) and David Wright ($15 million), in addition to smaller price tags like R.A. Dickey, the Mets will have very little room to maneuver if they manage to keep Reyes around.
More here
I don’t know how the Mets will fair in the Jose Reyes sweepstakes. But, I think it’s fair to assume the Mets will take a big PR hit with the fans if he walks.
Mets fans are tired of being second class citizens to the hated New York Yankees. If the Wilpons don’t have the financial wherewithal or heart to be big market team owners, step aside and sell the team to someone who does. Hopefully, Mets GM Sandy Alserson knows how to build a winning team. It’s been 25 years since the Mets won their last championship, 17 years before they won their first in 1969. That’s a long time between drinks.
The Last Tradition is fast becoming one of the most popular political blogs on the net. Don’t miss out on the fun and tell a friend.