The New York Mets' Jose Reyes is a terrific player, one of the best shortstops in the major leagues. The question lately is just how good?
Is he the type of player a club would mortgage the future to trade for as essentially a rent-a-player for the pennant race? He is a free agent following the season, and the Mets are having financial problems (long-time owner Fred Wilpon was involved in the Benard Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal). Also, the Mets are sputtering on the very outside edges of the postseason race as a .500 team. Reyes, who is having a bounce-back season after a couple underwhelming years, is the apple of the eye of Tiger fans collectively. Fans everywhere with contending teams see him the same way.
The Mets, who visit Comerica Park for a three-game interleague series this week, will trade him. There is little doubt about it.
A couple things:
- I don't think the Tigers have the depth of prospects to trade for Reyes. I wouldn't suggest the Tigers trade their top prospect, pitcher Jacob Turner, for him. But even if the Tigers were willing to do so, I'm not sure it would land Reyes.
- Reyes still has his tools and is in his prime. He's lost a little speed from when he was a flash in his early 20s, but can still run. And he hits the ball harder. He will be a good player for a long time.
- He seems motivated by a contract drive. That is great news for the team that gets him for the pennant race. It might not be so good for a club that signs him to what figures to be an extraordinarily big free agent contact. He might get as much as a $140 million deal.
- If the deal cost the Tigers Turner, and they put Reyes at shortstop and Jhonny Peralta at third base, they'd have to win the division and at least reach the World Series, or the deal wouldn't be worth it, right?
My column in Tuesday's Oakland Press
Tigers best friends might be their supposed foes in American League Central: http://bit.ly/kxvA6c