CLUB DREAD: Jose Reyes, who before the game said he wants to focus on baseball and not deal with contract negotiations until after the season, slaps a late tag on A’s base-stealer Jemile Weeks. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
Jose Reyes yesterday expressed his desire to remain with the Mets — but if the free-agent-to-be and MVP candidate is going to stay beyond this season, he won’t be signing an extension this season.
GM Sandy Alderson reached out to Reyes’ agent, Peter Greenberg, last week, and after Reyes and Greenberg met at the shortstop’s house on Monday, Reyes made a decision: No contract negotiations until after the 2011 campaign.
“I just want to play baseball,” Reyes, the NL batting leader at .336, said before going 0-for-5 in last night’s 7-3 loss to the A’s at Citi Field.
“There’s plenty of time in the offseason to make this happen.”
Provided Reyes, 28, isn’t traded by the July 31 non-waiver deadline — and a deal remains a distinct possibility for the cash-strapped Mets — the Amazin’s would have a five-day window after the season to have exclusive negotiating rights with the shortstop.
Reyes, right fielder Carlos Beltran and closer Francisco Rodriguez are candidates for a trade if the Mets clean house by the trade deadline.
Reyes is expected to look for a contract similar to the one Carl Crawford signed with the Red Sox in the offseason — seven years and $142 million. Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s 10-year, $157.5 million extension also likely will be a barometer.
The shortstop went into last night having hit in eight of his last 10 games, five of them multi-hit games, four of them three-hit games. On the season, he has 103 hits, an NL-best 12 triples, plus three homers, 29 RBIs, 26 steals and a .382 on-base percentage.
Those numbers — and fans’ expressed desire to keep Reyes a Met — prompted Alderson to reach out.
“From my standpoint, it was important to make contact,” the GM said.
Alderson also made it clear yesterday the Mets’ play over the next several weeks will not impact how they deal with Reyes’ future.
“Obviously, we want to act in the best interest of the Mets long-term, and at this point, by virtue of reaching out to Jose, I think that’s an indication that we feel having Jose with us long-term would be a real positive,” Alderson said.
“I think Jose’s situation is not a function of whether we’re winning or losing on a short-term basis in July. It may have something to do with other things that we do.”
But Alderson said Reyes is a unique scenario.
“His future with us is not gonna be dictated by how we play, good or bad, over the next month,” Alderson said. “I think, given all the circumstances and the context here, it’s not that he’s a different player, it’s not that he’s a better player. It’s given where we are in our development and where he is, what we expect going forward with respect to the team as a whole.”
Reyes is taking a chance by not negotiating during the season, especially since he has been hampered by injuries in the past. He and his agents took that into account, especially with the recent fractured wrist of the Cardinals’ impending free agent Albert Pujols. But Reyes opted to take the risk.
“Injuries are a part of the game,” said Reyes, who has remained healthy this season. “Right now, I don’t worry about injuries. I don’t want anything on my mind.”
Including a lengthy contract with the Mets, apparently.
“It wasn’t a surprise,” Alderson said of the Reyes news. “I’m not even sure I would label it a disappointment, the fact it wasn’t a surprise. We still have a very good working relationship with both Jose and his agent.”
That might not matter come the offseason.
“It’s possible this will motivate more [trade] conversation, but again, more conversation isn’t necessarily the result we’re seeking here,” Alderson said. “Practically speaking, my guess is some folks will react to it that way.”
Alderson admitted keeping Reyes a Met now — not dealing him — helps their chances of keeping him a Met later.
“It’s hard to say, but my gut reaction is yes, having a player in-house for that length of time strengthens one’s chances,” Alderson said.
Said Reyes, “I still want to be here. I want to finish my career here. There’s a long way to go. We’ll see what happens.”
— Additional reporting by Joel Sherman and Mark Hale