David Einhorn isn’t going to be a part of the Mets’ future, but the absence of the hedge fund manager and his $200 million investment doesn’t mean Jose Reyes won’t be back with the team.
After ownership decided to end negotiations with Einhorn yesterday the shortstop sat in front of his locker and repeated what he has said throughout the course of the season.
“It’s still too soon,” Reyes said of figuring out what he’s going to do when he becomes a free agent after this season. “I don’t worry about that. My concern is to stay on the field and whatever happens, happens. . . . I don’t have a plan yet. We need to wait and see until the season is over.”
But the Wilpons’ decision to send Einhorn — and his money — packing is an indication they are more confident the potential losses in the lawsuit related to their alleged knowledge of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme won’t cripple them.
The outcome of the lawsuit could take many more months to be decided and the team still is looking for investors to purchase smaller pieces of the team. It remains to be seen what kind of impact it has on the team’s payroll.
Reyes and Mets officials remain confident they will be able to make a strong run at him during their exclusive negotiating window after the season.
Nevertheless, because general manager Sandy Alderson said in Buffalo on Wednesday that the team could contend with a $100-$110 million payroll, the Mets would need to allot a considerable portion to a small number of players. They would be even more top-heavy if they end up keeping Reyes and don’t trade David Wright.
“We’re still hopeful we’ll figure something out with Jose,” one official said. “There are going to be a lot of factors that go into this. We’re not going to be empty-handed going in there.”
One of Reyes’ agents already had made plans to be at Citi Field last night before the deal fell through and also refused to rule the Mets out.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Chris Leible said. “We weren’t going to do anything before the end of the season, anyway. So we just have to see where everything goes.”
That includes the status of manager Terry Collins, who met with team COO Jeff Wilpon before the Mets’ 7-5 win over the Marlins last night at Citi Field.
“Jeff was just in and he just said, ‘I want you to know we’re moving forward, and it’s business as usual as far as you’re concerned,’ ” Collins said. “I said I didn’t expect to hear anything else out of you except that. This is their team and I respect them. I think they’ll do what they think is right. I’ll try to win baseball games with the guys we’ll have.”
Collins’ players sounded confident they wouldn’t let it bother them.
“It has zero effect on us,” Wright said. “I got a chance to meet [Einhorn]. He seemed like a nice guy. He seemed like a very smart guy. I enjoyed the conversations I had with him, but at the end of the day, it really has no effect on anybody in here.”
Like everyone else, the third baseman said he knows the player won’t know how this will impact the team until free agency.
“We’ll see what happens this offseason,” Wright said.