Why The Mets Would Be Stupid To Trade Jose Reyes

There's a rumor that the Mets are looking to trade Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Jenrry Mejia to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton and Stephen Drew. Now, that's such a silly trade that it probably isn't worth discussing; numerous other sources have said that the Mets want three or four players of at least AAAA caliber in exchange for just Reyes, as well they should. But there is discussion that the Mets are interested in trading Reyes... as a salary dump. Now, setting aside the fact that Jose Reyes is my favorite player in the game, there would be good reasons to trade Reyes, if you are getting back something just as good, which is somewhat unlikely. I think that there might be a situation where the exchange rate at which it would make sense for the Mets to trade Reyes is higher than the exchange rate at which it would make sense for any other team to take him, i.e. I think he has some value-added as a Met in much the same way that a certain other pathetic excuse for a shortstop I could mention has considerable value-added while he stays with that certain other team.

But trading Reyes in a salary dump just does not make sense, full stop. Yes, the Mets have a whole lot of cash locked up in nine players this year, and thus have essentially no room to maneuver. And yes, Reyes' contract nominally expires at the end of this year. And yes, he's being paid $11 million this year. But you know what? Very little of that matters. First of all, Reyes will be more than happy to sign a multi-year extension with the Mets after, or during, this upcoming year. He likes being a Met, and I think he wants always to be a Met. And unlike a certain other pathetic excuse for a shortstop, I don't think he is particularly likely to insist upon being paid two or three times his fair market value. And second of all, a huge amount of all of that money comes off the books after this year, including the three supposedly "albatross" contracts, Perez, Castillo, and Beltran. The Mets will have room to maneuver starting in 2012. Do you really want to not have Reyes anymore long-term just because we were squeezed this year? Nobody expects the Mets to contend this year. The point of 2011 is a rebuilding year; if we have a solid, mid-to-high 80s wins season, people will be thrilled. Then it's on to 2012, and trying to win a championship. At that point, any short-term salary dump motive to trade Reyes will have vanished into the mists of time, and we'll be left regretting it.

So trading Jose Reyes in an attempt to cut salary would be a not-particularly-effective way of trying to Win Now, in 2011, by sacrificing big-time long-term. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea.