Mets close to reuniting with Jose Reyes despite protests from fans
While the Colorado Rockies are willing to eat $41 million to part ways with alleged domestic abuser Jose Reyes, the New York Mets might be all-too happy to add the four-time All-Star back into the fold as they attempt to defend their National League pennant.
Multiple reports in recent days have suggested that the Mets are seriously considering signing Reyes as soon as Saturday when he becomes available after the Rockies requested waivers on Reyes on Thursday to grant the 33-year-old shortstop his unconditional release.
Reyes spent the first nine years of his MLB career with the Mets after signing with the organization as an amateur in 1999. He has also played with Miami, Toronto and the Rockies since leaving New York following the 2011 season.
Reyes was arrested in Wailea, Hawaii, in October for allegedly assaulting his wife in their hotel room. Prosecutors in Hawaii dropped the charges against Reyes in the spring when Reyes’ wife, Katherine, declined to cooperate with the case against her husband. But Major League Baseball handed Reyes a 52-game suspension because it believed there was enough evidence that Reyes had violated MLB policies against domestic violence. Reyes has served the suspension and is now ready to play for any team that will have him and that could be the team with which he began his career.
The prospect of Reyes returning to New York has some Mets fans excited and some disappointed that the organization would put winning ahead of taking a stand against domestic abuse in the same fashion as the Rockies, by not tolerating it in the franchise.
It’s no minor decision on the part of the Rockies to send Reyes packing and we’re not just talking about the millions they still must pay him to not play in Colorado. Remember the Rockies gave up popular shortstop Troy Tulowitzki last season in a trade with Toronto, in part, because they were getting a player of Reyes’ caliber in return in addition to prospects.
One upset Mets fan has started a campaign at change.org aimed at convincing the Mets not to bring back Reyes.On her petition, she wrote:
“The response to the suggestion that Jose Reyes be signed by the New York Mets disgusts me. People are openly defending his actions and attempting to downplay the seriousness of domestic violence, and in some cases are blaming his wife.”
As of mid-afternoon Friday, only 124 people had signed the petition. Meanwhile, some Mets fans were bothered that another fan of the team would try to stop the franchise from signing Reyes.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
