In a very surprising move by Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins, the New York Mets choose Matt Reyolds to replace the injured Ruben Tejada.
By David Hong
After Chase Utley’s dirty slide on Ruben Tejada in Game 2 of the NLDS resulted in a broken right leg (forcing him to miss the remainder of the playoffs), the New York Mets needed a replacement in the middle infield.
On Sunday, they made a move, and to most people’s surprise they brought up minor league infielder Matt Reynolds, who’s never played a single MLB game.
Reynolds, however, was one of the top Mets minor league position players this season. He was also expected to come up to the big leagues some time during the season but never had that chance.
That is, until, now – the most pressurized time during the year.
Reynolds spent all of 2015 in Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .267 with a .721 on base percentage, 6 HR and 65 RBIs in 115 games. He played 92 games at shortstop.
That might’ve been the deciding factor on the Mets bringing Reynolds in, instead of perhaps Dilson Herrera.
The Mets needed a backup shortstop after Tejada’s unfortunate injury. Wilmer Flores will start at shortstop for the rest of the playoffs, so Reynolds will back him up.
Reynolds, like Tejada, is a good contact hitter with not much power. He’s a pretty solid fielder too. He’s also played 11 games at 2nd base.
No one knows what to expect from Reynolds. That could also result in Reynolds surprising everyone and having a Cinderella postseason.
The Mets got a surprising playoff performance from a utility outfielder in Timo Perez back in 2000. Brought in just before the playoffs, Timo stunned everyone, by hitting close to .400 in the NLDS and NLCS combined, helping the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since 1986.
With Reynolds not known by many, he can be the next Timo Perez for the Mets in 2015.
