Reyes clears waivers; could Yankees be a fit?
Jose Reyes has cleared waivers, according to sources, is now eligible to be traded anywhere.
And while the Rockies don’t seem anxious to trade him, they do have decent young shortstop depth, have fielded a couple calls from interested parties and haven’t ruled anything out.
At least a couple teams are said to have been “poking around” regarding Reyes, who was acquired from the Blue Jays for franchise shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in a pre-deadline blockbuster, and word is there’s been at least a little contact with the Yankees, though it isn’t known whether the Yankees have any real interest.
Reyes is believed to love the idea of a return to New York, and his comments in New York this week did nothing to dispel that notion, but it’s hard to see a real match with the Yankees right now. They love the improving Didi Gregorius at shortstop, and at the moment seem to be feeling better lately about the Stephen Drew/Brendan Ryan second-base combination. Reyes played second for the Mets to make room for Kaz Matsui at shortstop in 2004.
It’s no surprise Reyes cleared waivers as he’s surely worth a bit less than the $55 million remaining in his Marlins deal that goes through 2017. Reyes doesn’t really feel like a fit in Colorado (originally, they had preferred to do the deal without him), and while he was polite about it, Reyes sounded like a guy who wouldn’t mind a return to New York and the Mets in interviews when the Rockies came to Citi Field this week.
Jose Reyes could return to the Big Apple. (USATSI)
If his trade to the Jays shocked him, it sounds like the one to Colorado did the same. Reyes still has a home on Long Island (he never bought one in Miami, which was a good thing), so perhaps he’d be pleased to hear the Yankees at the very least had some contact with the Rockies. The Mets showed no interest in bringing him back immediately after the trade, according to sources.
But Reyes made clear what his priorities are now in his recent interview, and since winning tops the list, it’s seems clear the Rockies may not be the perfect fit at this moment.
On his trip to New York this week, Reyes spoke of his need to play for a contender, saying, “At this point, I just want to win. No matter what people say, or whatever people think. I’m at the point in my career where I want to win. If it”s here or someplace else, I don’t know. Next year, I mean, should be better. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my career playing on a last-place team. When I retire, I’m going to go home and say, ‘I played for what?’ You know, if I don”t win anything.”
If they do consider trading Reyes, the Rockies are looking to stockpile pitching prospects to better their chances to find the right fits for difficult Coors Field, and they feel pretty good about their shortstop depth, starting with Trevor Story, a top prospect. Story has a .519 slugging percentage at Triple-A Albuquerque.
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