Sandy Alderson and the New York Mets have decided to bring back Jose Reyes and allow Jon Niese to take a hike.
As expected, the New York Mets will bring back Jose Reyes for at least another season, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball. They are going to exercise its league-minimum option to bring back the sparkplug infielder.On the contrary, the Mets will not bring back lefty starter Jon Niese. Instead, they will exercise a $500,000 buyout clause in his contract.
The Mets brought back Reyes after the Colorado Rockies released him following a 51-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. He revived his career in Flushing with a solid year, hitting .267 with eight home runs, 24 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 60 games for the Mets
He quickly solved the Mets leadoff problems and created a spark again at the top of the order and added much-needed speed to the lineup. His presence was a huge factor in the Mets resurgent offense late in the season, resulting in a 27-13 finish that clinched a wild-card berth.
In addition, he played solid defense at third base, especially considering he’s hardly played there before.
Niese, on the other hand, was not much of a factor. He made a few spot starts and was not much effective. In his start on August, he left in the first inning because of a knee injury and he needed surgery on it, ending his season.
So to bring back Reyes and cut Niese were really simple, no risk moves that will benefit the team.