Jose Reyes: 8 Reasons the Mets Blew It Not Dealing Their Star at the Deadline

The New York Mets have been in the middle of a roller-coaster season this season with several players included as passengers. Among them, on Opening Day, was Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes.

Since Opening Day, Rodriguez had been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and has had as turbulent a beginning as he did with the Mets. Beltran has been traded for two weeks, and while he has started slowly, he has been heating up as of late.

The biggest question mark for the Mets for the majority of the first half of the season was not either of them, however. It was Jose Reyes.

First, there were reports that Mets GM Sandy Alderson was taking calls and offers on him. Then, the news broke just weeks before the trade deadline that the Mets were no longer shopping him. In fact, they were looking into trying to resign him on a long-term basis.

But was the team's decision to bypass placing him on the trade block a good one?

I am not so sure. While he has been the best player in the league for the first half of the year, his second half has shown why it may have been better to trade him and why they will regret not doing so.

Here are eight reasons why they should have traded him when they had the chance.

The Jose Reyes Stock Will Never Be Higher Than It Was before the Deadline

No. 1 -  Sell High, Buy Low

The Mets leadoff hitter was leading the league in several remarkable categories as late as July 20th. He led in AVG (.355), triples (15) and multi-hit games (44). He led the NL in hits (126) and was second in the NL in stolen bases (30).

With the trade deadline just 11 days away at that point, his trade value would have been at its pinnacle. Teams would have been tripping over each other at LaGuardia Airport to make their way out to Citi Field to see him in person and visit Sandy Alderson's office to make an offer.

The deadline came and went. While rumors early on reported a few teams inquired about Reyes, the trade floodgates soon slowed down to a trickle and then ceased. Teams focused their attention to other options and moved on. It was a lost opportunity to pick up wonderful value. The old saying that "hindsight is 20/20" holds true here.

They had the chance to sell at a high price and drive up the price even higher that teams were going to have to give for Reyes as the season went on. They blew that chance, and it showed on Sunday. There's a major reason why hindsight is 20/20. Which brings me to my next point.

Jose Reyes Has Never Been the Healthy Type

No. 2 - Rumors of his health have been greatly exaggerated

Jose Reyes began his MLB Career in 2003. If you throw out that season, he has played a full season worth of games only four times in seven years (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). He played only a third of the 2004 season and missed almost all of 2009. He is currently on the DL for the second time this year.

Without that rookie season factored in (since he was called up halfway through the season), Jose Reyes has played 953 games to date out of a possible 1,248 games. In other words, he has missed 295 games. That's a month short of two full seasons (324 games) out of a possible eight seasons.

He has played 75 percent of the time. That's good, but not good enough for a man that is considered a top-tier, high income earner to-be. He earned his extended contract early in his career, though it's not the pay he deserved when entering his prime.

The Mets certainly got a bargain in him at the time they signed him. During the span between their playoff contention years (2006-2008), Reyes posted an AVG of .292, hit 47 home runs, scored 354 runs and swiped 198 bases.

He was a top-tier leadoff man. Opposing pitchers feared him. He started the Mets scoring chances more than anyone else. He was the Mets. Since then, the numbers aren't even close.

Even when you factor in this year's explosive start, his past few years falls well short to that playoff-type pace. He posted 18 home runs, 181 runs scored and stole 75 bases while posting a .299 AVG (when factoring in his gaudy .336 AVG this year so far) from 2009 to the current day.

The biggest issue is his inability to remain healthy. Even when he is in the lineup in the past few years, he has had nagging injuries he has played through. While that is admirable, that is not a great sign for a speedster at the top of the order.

Many speculate that the answer to his injury issues lies in his pregame preparations. That remains to be seen, but until he figures out what made players like Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines stay healthy in a time when the game was played at a more physical pace, the injury issue will always be a major factor.

Jose Reyes Has Never Been a Big Percentage Type

No. 3 - Walk, don't run

Jose Reyes doesn't walk much. That is not a surprise to fantasy baseball owners and fans that follow this team closely. However, a deeper look into the stats suggests that the Mets were right to think that Reyes is not an Alderson-type of guy. Mets GM Sandy Alderson wants high on-base percentage guys.

The new Mets regime likes the type of player that does the fundamentals well; get on base, move the runner over, bring him in. Reyes isn't in that mold. He is too explosive to play what many consider the Met's shrunken version of small ball.

He is a "help himself" type. He hits, he steals, he runs all over the place, sometimes running the team out of an inning. That's the risk of having such a high-energy player. That is not the type of player Alderson has built his winning teams around.

Reyes has accumulated 307 walks in his career (again, not counting that first half-season) and just about half of that total (143) came in two seasons (2007, 2008) when he seemed to be trying to walk more consistently.

He has a .339 on base percentage, when factoring in his large .377 OBP posted this year. Still, as impressive as that .339 sounds, it isn't even good enough to be in the top 50 in OBP throughout the MLB this year.

Reyes also has a high strikeout ratio. He has 462 strikeouts in his career (again, throwing out 2003). That's an average of 58 strikeouts a season in eight seasons. Not that bad? Think again. For a power hitter, it's not, but for a leadoff hitter, it's a bit above average. By comparison, Jimmy Rollins has 47 right now, Chone Figgins has 42.

In fact, the only seasons Reyes has had less than 31 strikeouts in a season were all seasons that he played less than 100 games. Granted, this is not a major problem. It doesn't seem to catch up to him or prevent him from getting on consistently, but he is forced to get on base by hitting. If he would combine walks with a lower strikeout ratio and hits, he'd be the greatest leadoff man in the game.

As it is, he is top tier, when healthy, but there are many that can state a case to be up there with him. He has not separated himself from the pack in that respect. His stats back up that he is not your typical leadoff player. He plays a different style that can affect his game, and therefore, his team.

Two Picks vs. MLB Ready Package

No. 4 - Two for one or one for all

The biggest debate that plagued the Mets early on this season concerning Jose Reyes is level of talent they could get back in each given scenario. Here are the scenarios that faced them before the trade deadline. One, they could have traded him for a top prospect and perhaps a player that is ready for MLB level games.

He would have certainly netted the Mets more than Carlos Beltran did. Beltran gained the Mets top San Francisco pitching prospect Zack Wheeler in a straight up trade. Wheeler is not ready for the majors yet, though his Single-A shutout the other day may suggest he is going to cruise through the Mets farm system rather quickly.

Still, the Mets got a lot more than the rest of the league thought. The truth is, when other teams got involved in negotiations, the Giants upped their offer. The same thing could have happened concerning Jose Reyes.

In fact, at the deadline, Reyes may have gotten the Mets someone to use now at the major league level and two or three prospects with one of those being a top prospect. Possibly a Mike Minor (pictured) type from the Braves or another desperate to contend team in contention making deals at the eleventh hour.

All for a two-month rental. He would initially be a rental to anyone they traded him to because he is a free agent at the end of the year. It is true that he may develop a taste for success in whichever city he went to and consider that new team as a long-term possibility, but the chances of him being just a rental were extremely high.

That brings me to the second scenario. If he signs with another team next season, the Mets will get two draft picks for him from the team that signs him. That will give them two chances to obtain a decent to good player for a few years down the road. That may be great news for the 2015 Mets, but it doesn't help much right now.

It seems a win-win for them. But the truth is, this team needs more than what they have. If they traded Reyes, it would have hurt their season, but it would have set them up better for the immediate future and next year, not maybe four years from now.

A Reyes Package Would Have Helped the Wilpons

No. 5 - Take two players get the third one free

The Mets are in a financial crisis. That, too, is not a secret. When considering a package deal of prospects, one must consider that the Mets could have added another name to the deal and received even more.

For argument's sake, let's throw in a name like Jason Isringhausen, Chris Capuano or a Mike Pelfrey. Any combination of those three with a Jose Reyes would have helped do two things: the Mets could have acquired more young talent, like previously mentioned, and they could have taken a big chunk of their payroll off the books.

This theory is particularly intriguing for a Mike Pelfrey or a Jason Bay type. Those are two guys that are decent enough players and that need new scenery. Pelfrey is a head case. He is never comfortable in Queens and has not been able to come close to loving up to the "ace" role that Terry Collins named him to in February. Jason Bay, due to injury and ballpark dimensions, has not been able to live up to the lofty expectations of his contract.

Both need a new address. If the Mets could have packaged them in with Reyes, another team might have taken the bait. That would have freed the Mets from a lot of payroll, though they would have had to pay some percentage of Bay and Pelfrey's remaining years.

If that had happened though, the team could have used the extra cash to give Reyes a good offer in the offseason or have the flexibility to sign another big bat, like a Prince Fielder type. They could have at least considered it in that case—if they made a move before the deadline.

Those deadline deals are when teams can move multiple bad contracts in a hurry when they take advantage of another team's desperation.

With Reyes Gone, the Mets Could Have Glimpsed into the Future

No. 6 - The young and the restless

The Mets needed to trade Reyes for another major reason. They needed to have time to get a realistic view of those younger players they deemed to be his potential replacements. They have Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores, Josh Satin, Jordany Valdespin and Reese Havens, among others that have the potential to fill that role in the future. It may be time to see what they can do.

So far, Tejada is batting .246 with 19 RBI this year. Not overly impressive, but his hitting is supposed to be coming along as he gets more experience. How can he gain more experience at the shortstop position if Reyes is still there and playing in the everyday lineup?

He may be out right now but don't think that Reyes will be out for the remainder of the season. If anything, he will force himself back early just to get some more at bats and try to salvage what is left of his walk year.

Flores and Havens are supposed to be the next best double-play combination in Queens. Both are injured right now, but they may be able to get some time together in the near future when healthy, if Reyes is not re-signed. Satin hit .308 last year in Double-A with seven home runs and 19 RBI to go with it in just a half season there.

This year, he is continuing his good play at that level. He has 12 home runs, 71 RBI in 110 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He is highly thought of in the organization. He may be up in September. As for Valdespin, he has 15 home runs wit 51 RBI in 106 games at the Double-A level.

Obviously, there is more depth at the middle positions than Mets fans want to admit, but there is only room for one or two starters. With Reyes around, there is room for just one—him.

Reyes Departure Could Have Helped Fans Look to 2012

No. 7 - Spring hopes eternal

The New York Mets have been around the .500 mark all season (with the exception of a dreadful and well documented 5-13 start). They have been a gritty team that has shown perseverance and determination. They don't give up. They fight until the death!

Okay, that may be a little extreme, but the idea is they continue to play like they are still in the game, even when they are down double digits. It's that "never out of it" mentality that has endeared this team to their fanbase. It has helped them be a big story in baseball throughout the season, but the more they win, the higher the expectations.

When the expectations grow to unrealistic extremes, they eventually will not measure up and are doomed to let a lot of diehard fans down. They stand at 58-57 as of right now. They are still out of the wild card by at least nine games to the Atlanta Braves. Is this 1969 or 1973 all over again?

It's highly doubtful. Those teams had high-end pitching and timely hitting that this team does not always exhibit. While, nothing would make me happier to be writing about that, this team is not a contender this year.

Therefore, a trade of Jose Reyes would have signified the organization giving up on this season and these current players on the roster. Since that would have certainly created empty seats and lower sales much sooner than anticipated, that seemed like it was not an option for management.

But if they wanted to show the fans respect, they would have helped fans realize that this current team was not going to compete in 2011, and that trade would have helped to that end. Sometimes, it is helpful for management to show the fans that they are being realistic. This may have been one of those cases.

Next season, there may be an entirely different roster, but there would be a new sense of optimism and hope returning as the snow melts in the Northeast, and fans turn to baseball again in March. Until then, a delusional optimism that this organization has set will become a crushing and painful void that will extend longer than it really needed to.

If fans were able to recognize that the Mets were not contenders, they would have come to terms with it much sooner, and therefore, would be able to look forward to the September call-ups for what they are—not fresh legs to help the veterans rest up for a playoff push, but a glimpse of the future.

A Reyes trade would have enabled that. As of now, there still is room for delusional thinking. That is completely the Mets' fault.

Mets Need a Face Lift from Their "Core"

No. 8 - Out with the old, in with the new

The New York Mets once labeled themselves "Los Mets" in an attempt to change their culture and their appeal to the city by changing their identity. Their "core" group of players, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran have been together since long before that change. They were the "new" Mets.

That was the moniker before "Los Mets," and it was part of the face lift the franchise was going through. Since that face lift, they have had new coaches, new GM's, new pitchers around them but still the same tired, aged and strained looking face.

That has to change before there can be any real change of regime from overrated veterans to overly-rated potential youth. Reyes and Co. have won as many World Series titles as Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda. That is zero. They have been to one NLCS. Everyone talks about that. Everyone mentions the strike three look by Beltran.

The truth is, the core didn't show up for that series. The pitching didn't show up for that series. The team didn't show up for that series. They allowed a hotter team to overtake them, and then, they allowed it the next two years as well in different circumstances. This core has outlived its usefulness.

Their time is long gone. It is history like the last Mets World Series victory that the fans celebrate endlessly because the current regime has not given them any new memories that are worth celebrating. Is this what the fans want? A core that never wins and is too busy recovering from injury after flabbergasting injury? No. Of course, it's not.

Why lament the loss of members of a core that never brought you to the promised land? Because they had one good year where they failed in the end? It doesn't add up. It's not worth mourning the loss of this group as a whole. Case in point, Carlos Beltran is two weeks removed from the Mets. He is already smiling and laughing with his new teammates. K-Rod as well.

Only David Wright and Jose Reyes remain. Neither have proven they are the centerpiece of a team. Of the two, though, Reyes is the biggest commodity. That is why he was the most tradeable player the team had.

That is why they made an enormous miscalculation by not taking full advantage of that rarest of opportunities to trade the one premiere player they could build a future around or whose departure could have a future built from.