Tag: Jose Reyes

Video: Mets 2011 Preview from Fox Sports

New York Mets Third Baseman David Wright

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Jim Bowden previews the 2011 Mets for Fox Sports in the video below. I think he pretty much nailed it. 2011 probably isn’t going to be a great year for the Mets. The finances appear to be a problem and it led to little offseason activity. The Mets have a few valuable pieces, notably David Wright and Jose Reyes, that can deliver production for the team or return value in a trade.

The prediction is for the Mets to finish fourth in the NL East and I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. You could make an argument for a third place finish, but I think it would be difficult to predict that the Mets will finish with a better record than the Phillies or Braves.

As Bowden mentioned, with about $60 million coming off the books in 2012, next year’s team will look a lot different than what we’re watching this season. http://img.widgets.video.s-msn.com/flash/customplayer/1_0/customplayer.swf
Video: First Pitch: Mets

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Mets Links- Spring Training, Wilpon, K-Rod, Reyes

Donald Trump in February 2009
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Fred Wilpon arrived in Port St. Lucie today and defiantly told reporters that his family will be vindicated. He spoke to reporters at length about the Madoff trustee lawsuit against him and said that he’s done nothing wrong and the Mets won’t be affected by the suit. It’s the same thing he told reporters at his press conference a couple of weeks ago.

Here are the stories that are in the news from PSL:

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Five Mets That Need To Have A Big 2011

José Reyes
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Many would call this a transition year for the Mets.  The Phillies are clearly ahead of the pack in the National League East, and the Metropolitans will have their work cut out for them if they hope to make a run at the Wild Card.

But as the Giants proved last season, some big years from some key players can launch a team to the promised land.

I’ve compiled a list of the five Mets that the team needs to have a big season from if they have any hopes of playing serious September/October baseball.

1. Jose Reyes-

We all need a big season from the franchise shortstop.  The fans need it, the team itself needs it, and most importantly, Jose needs a big season for himself.  When Reyes is healthy, there’s no arguing that he is one of the most tantalizing players in baseball.  But in 2011, Reyes needs to prove that his body is not already starting to break down at the age of 27.  Realistically, this could be the last season that Jose Reyes is a Met.  He’s a free agent after the season, and if he has a big year he will undoubtedly be targeted by several teams who could use an upgrade at shortstop.  If the Mets don’t plan on resigning him, you could see him used as trade bait in late July if the Mets aren’t in contention. Continue reading “Five Mets That Need To Have A Big 2011”

Mets have Bigger Problems than Cliff Lee

May 28, 2010- Milwaukee, WI. Miller Park..New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana pitched for 8 scoreless inning giving up 3 hits and striking out 5 Brewers batters..Milwaukee Brewers won over the New York Mets 2-0, taking the first game of the 3 game series against the Mets...Mike McGinnis / CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets front office has their work cut out for them. With the announcement of the Phillies signing of Cliff Lee, Mets fans everywhere cringed at the possibility of another World Series Championship to a division rival. Now the best team in the division just got a whole lot better. The Phillies will start the year with a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. This is the best rotation in MLB right now.

This is painful for Mets fans. The front office has simply conceded that this year and maybe next, will be a wash. They are wasting the prime of David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana. They are also wasting the end of the career of Jason Bay. They are tricking themselves into believing that Daniel Murphy will be a good fielder and that they will be able to spend money in the next two years for free agents.

With the Mets on the decline, I really hope that someone is taking a close look at their financial future. They have money tied up in players next year for over $120 million dollars. In 2012, they already have over $60 million dollars allocated to players but this does not include the impending signings of Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, R.A. Dicky, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, or Josh Thole. While I do not think they will sign all of those players in 2012, the signings of even half of those players might push the 2012 dollars over $100 million and it still would not include any big free agent signings. Continue reading “Mets have Bigger Problems than Cliff Lee”

Mets Won’t Be Active At Winter Meetings

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Sandy Alderson answers...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This week Sandy Alderson has been trying to get the fans excited about the prospects of activity at the MLB Winter Meetings this week. I don’t know about you but it’s not working on me. I know the reality of the Mets situation. They have $5 million or less to spend on free agents within the 2011 budget. That’s not good enough to bring back Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, or any other player remotely as skilled as they are.

Frankly, I would more excited if the Mets were able to dump Luis Castillo or Oliver Perez on another team. That’s the best possible scenario. And that’s a pretty sad state of the team.

Alderson was talking pretty tough to reporters this week when he said:

“I can guarantee you, we’ll come back with some good players,” Alderson said. “I can’t guarantee how high-profile they will be. Or how many. If nothing else, we’ll pick in the Rule 5 draft, just to say we brought a player back.”

We’re smart enough to understand the reality though. Alderson is trying to find a low-budget starting pitcher like Chris Young or Jeff Francis. They’re guys coming off injuries or severely under-performing seasons looking for a short-term deal until they can get back to a more “normal” performance level.

The Mets are also looking to add some bullpen help with the recent losses of Raul Valdes, Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green, and Hisanori Takahashi. Middle relievers signing doesn’t generally get the fan base out in mass to buy tickets.

There is the outside chance that Jose Reyes could get traded. The one team that I think would be a good trading partner for Reyes is the Reds. I don’t think the Reds want to start 2011 with Paul Janish as their plan for the season at shortstop. They won the Central Division with 91 games and are bringing pretty much everyone of value back again except Orlando Cabrera. By the way, Brandon Phillips is making the exact same salary as Reyes in 2011, the last year of his contract with the Reds. Although the Reds do have a club option for 2012 at $12 million. Keep that in mind.

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Mets 2011 Hot Stove – Trade Bait

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (L) and center fielder Angel Pagan celebrate their 4-0 win over the New York Yankees in their MLB inter-league baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, June 18, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL IMAGES OF THE DAY)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets are strapped with a high payroll and a lot of baggage. Sandy Alderson feels the proper course is to wait out certain expiring contracts. Therefore, the Mets will look to get creative this hot stove. This will require signing some lower priced free agents to be brought in to compete to win jobs. It will take low risk-high reward players possibly coming off down or injured seasons. It may take a trade or two to import some exciting new talent and shake things up. Here is what you can expect to hear from analysts during the upcoming hot stove.

Possible Trade Bait:

Jose Reyes SS

Profile

The catalyst for almost half a decade has been a popular topic of trade conversation. Reyes is coming off a few injury plagued down seasons, and could become a free agent after the 2011 season. It will take a boatload for a team to convince Sandy to deal the explosive shortstop. Shortstops who hit and field as well as Jose make him a commodity. When he is healthy he can spark an offense and infuriate pitchers. Continue reading “Mets 2011 Hot Stove – Trade Bait”

Mets Pick Up Jose Reyes Option

New York Mets SS - José Reyes
Image via Wikipedia

One of Sandy Alderson’s first moves was a no-brainer today. He picked up the option year on Jose Reyes contract for $11 million. The Mets don’t have a better option at shortstop and $11 million isn’t bad for Reyes. He would get a lot more than that on the open market.

Reyes is still my favorite everyday player to watch on the Mets despite the last few seasons having been less than what he’s capable of. I think most Mets fans still want to see Reyes with the Mets long-term. But putting a price on Reyes’ talent is difficult. There aren’t many players that have hit free agency recently with similar skills. Waiting one more year for Carl Crawford to get a free agent deal will give a good starting point for Reyes. They’re not exactly the same type of player, especially considering Reyes plays short, but it will be a good guage of what a player with a good mix of power and speed can get on the open market.

Check out Reyes’ career stats and it’s obvious that committing $11 million to Reyes is unquestionably the right thing to do.

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