Jose Reyes: Mets Need To Move On and Trade Reyes

                Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is an extremely talented player.  From 2005-2008, he was one of the best players in baseball.  He scored 100 runs in 3 of those 4 years and in the year he didn’t score 100 runs, he scored 99.  He was a leadoff man that would get on base and created havoc with his speed.  His lowest stolen base total from 2005-2008 was 56.  His speed would cause problems for pitchers as it made it difficult for them to focus on the hitters they were pitching to.  In addition, he was one of the best fielding shortstops in baseball.  However, Reyes has lacked discipline, focus, health and clutch ability and these factors make him a trade target.

                Discipline has been a problem for Reyes his entire career.  After a road trip in which he made 3 errors, Reyes offered this explanation, “"Sometimes, it's hard to get ready for every pitch. How many pitches do they throw to home plate?"  Reyes has been a professional baseball player for 8 years and it is difficult for him to stand on the field and focus on the game?  He, along with third baseman David Wright, are the home grown Mets who are supposed to be leaders of the team.  What can other players on the Mets think when their “leader” has trouble concentrating in the field?  This is not the only time that Reyes has lacked discipline and focus.  When Reyes was at his best, from 2005-2008, he was benched for one game by Willie Randolph for not running hard to first base on a ground ball.  Reyes gets infield hits and bunt hits, because of his speed, so there is no excuse for him to not run hard to first.  All he has to do is look at the shortstop on the other New York team.  New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter runs so hard to first base that the Oakland A’s put his running as an instructional video for their team!  It doesn’t take talent to run out a ground ball, just hard work.  Despite his great speed, Reyes makes a lot of outs on the bases.  He gets picked off when he has similar lapses to his fielding errors, gets thrown out when he tries to take an extra base, and even when he is safe when running his bases, his decisions are criticized.  In a FOX national TV game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he went from first base to third base on a base hit and was safe.  However, his manager, Jerry Manuel and the FOX broadcaster, Tim McCarver, were critical of the move.  First, there were two outs, so you want to keep the inning going and give your next hitter a chance to drive the runner from scoring position, since a runner advances from first base to second base after a base hit.  Second, it was a routine base hit and advancing to third was risky.  Reyes was safe, but it was a very close play.

            Finally, Reyes has not been the same player the last two years that he was in his best years, 2005-2008, because of injuries, and even then, when the Mets needed him most, he has not delivered.  In terms of injuries, Reyes has not handled them well.  In 2009, he had a hamstring injury and instead of not playing until it was completely healed, he tried to push it and made it worse.  As a result, he only played in 36 games.  This year, he had an oblique injury and again, came back too soon.  Reyes is a switch hitter and instead of resting so that he can hit from both sides of the plate, he batted right handed exclusively since the oblique injury did not allow him to bad left handed.  The injury affected him at the plate and in the field and he did not rest the injury until Wright noticed Reyes laboring in the field and instructed him to come out of the game.  Fortunately, Reyes is healthy now and actually playing very well, but these events the last two years shows the lack of professionalism that he has.  In his best years, 2005-2008, Reyes has come up small when the team needed him most.  Reyes hit .250 in the 2006 postseason and did not come through during the 2007 and 2008 September collapses that kept the Mets out of the postseason.

            In conclusion, a case can be made that Jose Reyes is the Mets most important player.  He is a leadoff man that ignites the Mets offense with his bat and speed.  The Mets are a very good team when he scores.  In addition, he is a very good fielding shortstop.  However, he has been a part of two terrible September collapses and other disappointing seasons.  In order for the Mets to be successful, they need to make changes.  It starts by trading Reyes, a talented player, but a player who lacks focus, discipline, professionalism, and production when you really need it.