New York Mets: Jose Reyes to Try Outfield in Spring Training
The New York Mets have interesting plans for Jose Reyes during Spring Training, as he could become a super utility player.
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Most fans pay attention to the Winter Meetings waiting for news of a big free agent signing or trade to break. However, there are also plenty of smaller news tidbits that will trickle out this week. The New York Mets dropped a piece of news on Monday when Sandy Alderson said the team will “test” Jose Reyes in the outfield during Spring Training.
Reyes, who began his career with the Mets, was re-signed by the team last summer. The Colorado Rockies released him at the conclusion of his 52-game domestic violence suspension. In 60 games with the Mets last season Reyes hit .267/.326/.443. He primarily spent time at third filling in for the injured David Wright.
Reyes developing the ability to play in the outfield is his best chance to get on the field in 2017, barring an injury to another starter. Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera have the middle of the Mets infield locked up, and Wright will be back as the every day third baseman. Of course if Wright suffers a setback or experiences another injury, it would likely pave the way for Reyes to return to the infield.
However, New York’s outfield situation is also fairly crowded at the moment. The team re-signed Yoenis Cespedes earlier in the offseason. Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, and Michael Conforto will all also compete for playing time along with Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo. Marc Craig reported that the team is willing to trade Curtis Granderson and/or Jay Bruce this offseason. If one or both of those players are dealt it would obviously lead to a greater chance of playing time for Reyes if his transition to the outfield is successful.
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The Mets are coming off of back-to-back playoff appearances in the past two seasons. The team will likely look to bolster its roster this offseason as they try to take advantage of their strong pool of starting pitching. Moving Reyes to the outfield might be a small move, but it’s a move that can give them added flexibility in what should be a tightly contested NL East race.