The Mets are teetering on the edge of becoming trade-deadline sellers, entering Friday night eight games back in both the NL East and Wild Card standings.
Should general manager Sandy Alderson decide to go that route, one of his trade chips is second baseman Daniel Murphy. And if Murphy is traded, the Mets may have a capable replacement waiting in the wings in Matt Reynolds.
Reynolds, who played exclusively at shortstop in the minors his first two seasons but has seen time at second base this year, has been enjoying a breakout season, entering Friday with a .353 batting average and .857 OPS in 80 games between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas.
“His [plate] approach is so good, he can make adjustments quick,” Binghamton hitting coach Luis Rivera said. “He’s consistent. He has a lot of confidence with two strikes, and you can see that consistency when he is [either] ahead or behind in the count.”
Reynolds has also played steady defense, according to an American League scout.
“Defensively, he made all the plays for me,” the scout said. “His transfer on the double play was nothing special, but he’s a solid guy.”
Mets vice president of player development and scouting Paul DePodesta thought Reynolds had defensive upside when the team drafted the University of Arkansas product in the second round in 2012.
“He was a third baseman in college, but we thought he was a superior defender [who could] play in the middle of the diamond,” DePodesta said. “He was very fundamentally sound — he seemed to do a lot of little things well.”
Upon being drafted, the Mets sent Reynolds directly to Single-A Savannah — a full-season league — which was an unusual move. Reynolds held his own at age 21, hitting .259 in 42 games.
“Usually, [players] go to Brooklyn, Kingsport, or the Gulf Coast,” DePodesta said. “[He went to Savannah] because the shortstop position was available, and we sent him there for the exposure defensively to the new position, knowing that offensively it was going to be a struggle.”
Last season, Reynolds started at High-A St. Lucie and posted a .226 average in 117 games — a slight dip in production that did not overly worry DePodesta.
“He was fairly consistent,” DePodesta said. “We thought he would probably do a little bit better, [but] we were thrilled with his development at shortstop, and that was a real plus. Offensively, we said, ‘Let’s send him to Double-A.’ We felt the consistency of his approach warranted a move and that he would be well-prepared.”
The move to Binghamton paid immediate dividends, as Reynolds hit .355 in 58 games there before earning a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Reynolds hasn’t missed a beat since arriving in Vegas, entering Friday with a .346 batting average and .870 OPS in 78 at-bats.
“He looked like a big leaguer,” Salt Lake hitting coach Francisco Matos said, after Reynolds went 7-for-16 against the Bees last week. “He used the whole field, which is good for a young kid.”