With Reyes’ quicker-than-expected return from the 15-day DL Tuesday night against St. Louis, the Mets have obviously caught a break.
The star shortstop, who’s still among the league leaders in hits, average, doubles, triples, runs and steals was originally targeted for a late-July return. His speedy recovery makes him a welcome sight at the top of the lineup as well as in the field, though his teammates held up strong, finishing 6–6 without him.
But the timely healing also beckons questions: Did the Mets purposely speed it up to showcase their biggest trade-chip in anticipation of landing a Mark-Teixeira-like coup come month-end?
Remember, this year’s probable MVP candidate has a long injury history (he’s missed 155 games the last two years) and it’s mainly the same injured hamstring that’s been the culprit, which certainly isn’t a question-mark you’d want on a player whose best asset is speed.
The difficult thing to figure is who’d be dealing for the NL’s premier leadoff hitter. With their crosstown rivals still set at short and the west coast Dodgers in financial ruin, two of the games bigger spenders are out of the running. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the leading candidates to blow away Sandy Alderson with a deal:
5. White Sox—Chicago lands here solely because of GM Kenny Williams’ boldness for doing the unexpected. His last major in-season acquisition, former Cy Young award winner, Jake Peavy hasn’t worked out (14-9, 4.46 ERA in two and a half injury-riddled seasons) but the Sox could at least offer a decent shortstop in return in Alexi Ramirez along with top prospect LHP Chris Sale.
4. Rays—Although rarely looking to add payroll, Tampa Bay is a logical trade-partner simply due to their always-abundant farm system. GM Andrew Friedman could offer a combination of RHP Jeremy Hellickson, LHP Matt Moore, or OF Desmond Jennings as attractive trade bait, that’d possibly alleviate them of having to pay Reyes’ remaining salary.
3. Red Sox—AL-East leading Boston could still use an upgrade at shortstop as Marco Scutaro’s defense leaves something to be desired, while Jed Lowrie’s injuries have made him unreliable as a long-term fix. GM Theo Epstein could offer top prospect Jose Iglesias as the center piece of any deal, although getting the speedy Reyes would result in a Reyes-Ellsbury-Crawford-Pedroia logjam at the top of the lineup, although most would argue it’s a good problem to have.
2. Rangers—Texas has caught fire of late with an 11-game winning streak headed into Monday night and may not want to mess with their recent success, but the Rangers still have a loaded farm system and could offer 22-year-old Elvis Andrus as the main course in any attractive deal for the Mets star.
1. Atlanta—The Braves may be a division rival, but that shouldn’t scare Alderson away, as he already dealt K-Rod to the wild-card contending Brew Crew. GM Frank Wren has plenty of talent in the minors and could offer a deal centered around RHP Julio Teheran and others. Besides, being the originator of the Mark Teixeira coup (aka ‘the ripoff’), Atlanta is accustomed to over-paying come trade deadline time.
