A mild (hopefully) hamstring strain to his all-star shortstop would seem an inopportune time for Mets GM Sandy Alderson to seemingly reverse course and prepare to break the bank for Jose Reyes. However, if you’re to believe the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (or more to the point, Sherman’s anonymous source), that’s exactly what Alderson hopes to convince Fred Wilpon to do (“Alderson has learned to admire what Reyes does to such a degree that neither a minor injury nor the lack of elite on-base skills is dimming his ardor”)
Alderson has not only been swayed by the MVP-caliber play of Reyes (above, right), but also in calculating the additional worth that would come by elating the fan base if Reyes could be retained and how much it would cost to replace a switch-hitter in his prime if Reyes left.
In other words, if the Mets surmise that Reyes is worth, say, five years at $100 million, is it worth it to go to, say, six years at $120 million or more and see that additional money as: 1) $10 million of advertising directed at the fans and 2) $10 million in peace of mind that they do not have to try to find replacements to make up for what would be lost, especially since they already know Reyes can play in New York and loves playing here.
Alderson refused to discuss my information that he is now strongly committed to convincing the Wilpons that making a substantial bid for Reyes is vital. But he did tell The Post: “There is more going on here [when it comes to Reyes] than the game on the field.”
Should Reyes leave, the Mets would probably have to go with Ruben Tejada at short and find ways (probably expensive ways) to replace the lost offense of Reyes; with almost no way to replace the lost dynamism and connection to the fans. And the Mets know Reyes wants to be a Met, an advantage they are unlikely to have with other targets.