Jose Reyes Free Agent News: Would Red Sox Win a Ring in 2012 If They Sign Him?

This past season was a prime example to explain that even a team with prime talent doesn't necessarily guarantee a World Series title or a postseason berth at that.

Going into 2011, 40 of 45 ESPN analysts predicted that either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Boston Red Sox would win the World Series. In the five projections that didn't have one of those two teams winning it all, they all at least had one of them making it to the Series.

Well if you haven't been watching baseball for the past two months, I'll fill you in. The Red Sox collapsed in September and failed to make the playoffs and the Phillies lost to the eventual champion Cardinals in the first round. No matter how good a team looks on paper, it doesn't mean anything when it comes to baseball.

Boston will have plenty of opportunities to sign even more talent for their 2012 campaign with hopes of winning the World Series for the third time since 2004. One interesting player to keep an eyes on is former Met Jose Reyes. Now I know what you're thinking; why would Boston sign Reyes if they just picked up Marco Scutaro's option? Well, Reyes is better, and you always want to be better than you were before.

Marco Scutaro has been a better fielder in his career, but Reyes is by far more explosive offensively. Can you imagine the tandem of Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Reyes on the bases? Both could easily steal 50 bases, giving Boston plenty of opportunities to score.

One thing that I found interesting about Reyes was that he pulls the ball 45 percent of the time when he is hitting right-handed. At Fenway Park, a player with speed gets a double every time he hits the Green Monster which would improve Reyes' numbers considerably. Reyes has averaged 34 doubles a season, and we saw last season that coming to Boston can increase that number, as Adrian Gonzalez had 12 more doubles after coming from San Diego. 

If Boston were to sign Reyes, it would inevitably trade Scutaro, who has drawn interest from a few teams. The question would be, where do you put Reyes into the already tight lineup? We saw Terry Francona throw Carl Crawford into the three-spot at the beginning of the season, but then move him to seventh, where he spent most of the season. Reyes would most likely fill the two-spot, hitting behind Ellsbury and ahead of Dustin Pedroia or Gonzalez.

Reyes is scheduled to meet with the Marlins this week about a potential contract, but a deal isn't definite; it is still the Marlins. We'll have to see if Ben Cherington plans to meet with Reyes and his agent about possibly playing for the Red Sox.

Reyes would definitely make a huge impact in Boston, but would it win the Red Sox a championship? Only time will tell.