LOS ANGELES — Jose Reyes should plan on staying with the Mets for the remainder of this season.
That was general manager Sandy Alderson’s message yesterday in the strongest indication yet that Reyes won’t be headed anywhere before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
“It’s very unlikely that Jose will be traded this season,” Alderson said before the Mets’ 6-0 loss to the Dodgers last night. “And that’s without regard to his injury.”
The star shortstop landed on the DL yesterday with a strained left hamstring, making it difficult for the Mets to discuss a Reyes trade even if they were inclined to go in that direction. Though the Mets expect Reyes back before the trade deadline, they also know such injuries are unpredictable.
The Post reported yesterday that Alderson has — or soon will — engage the Reyes camp in secret contract talks, aimed at shielding the player and organization from daily questions about the process.
Yesterday, Alderson and Reyes both reiterated to reporters that they have no plans to negotiate in-season — which is exactly what you would expect to hear from two sides trying to keep contract talks secret.
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Just call them the two-out wonders. Though the Mets are hardly an offensive juggernaut, their ability to drive in runs with two outs remains remarkable. In Wednesday’s 5-3 victory over the Dodgers, the Mets scored all five of their runs with two outs. They entered last night’s play third in the majors — behind Boston and Philadelphia — with 167 two-out runs this season.
“I just think we have guys that don’t try to do too much and stay in the middle of the field,” hitting coach Dave Hudgens said. “Everybody kind of realizes we don’t have guys that hit 40 homers. We’ve got [Carlos] Beltran in there and Jason [Bay] in there, we’ve got guys that can drive the ball, but they know in order to drive guys in they can shorten up a little bit and use the middle of the field.”
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Without elaborating, manager Terry Collins said he’ll have a pitcher on standby should R.A. Dickey not be physically ready for tonight’s start in San Francisco. He left Sunday’s start against the Yankees with soreness in his left glute.
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David Einhorn‘s minority stake investment in the Mets likely won’t be completed until August, according to a report.