If Only They Had Signed Reyes

Earlier today the New York Mets signed Curtis Granderson to a four-year contract. He'll be their everyday left fielder in 2014, probably. This is the Mets' second major move of the off-season, after the signing of Chris Young to play right field. Both are good signings, I think, though I was hoping they'd sign Shin-Soo Choo. So, what's left to do? Well, the most obvious remaining hole on the roster is shortstop. Also they don't really have any very good choices for leadoff hitter. Hmmm, I wonder...  who could fill that void?

Oh yeah, this guy:

Seriously, letting Jose Reyes go was the biggest mistake the Mets have made in a long time. Imagine he were on the Mets instead of the Blue Jays right now. They'd have an offense consisting of Travis d'Arnaud at catcher, some sort of platoon of Josh Satin and one of Ike Davis or Lucas Duda at first, Daniel Murphy at second, Reyes at short, David Wright at third, Granderson in left field, Juan Lagares patrolling center, and Chris Young playing right, with the likes of Wilmer Flores, Eric Young, Jr., Matt den Dekker, or Ruben Tejada as backup players. Here's how I'd picture the default lineups with that roster:

vs. RHP:                                    vs. LHP:
Jose Reyes, SS (S)                    Jose Reyes, SS (S)

Daniel Murphy, 2B (L)             Juan Lagares, CF (R)
David Wright, 3B (R)               David Wright, 3B (R)
Curtis Granderson, LF (L)        Chris Young, RF (R)
Chris Young, RF (R)                 Curtis Granderson, LF (L)
Ike Davis, 1B (L)                      Travis d'Arnaud, C (R)
Travis d'Arnaud, C (R)              Daniel Murphy, 2B (L)
Juan Lagares, CF (R)                Josh Satin, 1B (R)

That's a good offense, if you ask me. And it's got plenty of flexibility with Young (Eric) and Tejada on the roster. Instead, Tejada's currently the projected starting shortstop, Wilfredo Tovar is the default backup infielder (I think), and the big free agent shortstop, Stephen Drew, is a bottom-of-the-order guy who does nothing to solve the leadoff problem. If Reyes were still on this team, in other words, it would look to have a very well-rounded, well-balanced offense heading into 2014, with the slightly messy first base situation by far the biggest problem. Instead they're looking at another year, likely, of struggling at the top of the order, which will probably spell trouble for the whole team. And sure, they could do something unconventional like just shift everybody up one, bat Murphy leadoff and Wright second, but that's not likely to happen under Terry Collins.

I'm not necessarily saying the Mets should try to trade for Reyes now, although I'd be overjoyed if they did so for a reasonable price. I'm just saying that the decision not to match Miami's offer two offseasons ago was inexcusable, remains by far the worse thing Sandy Alderson has done as Mets GM, and continues to haunt this team. Reyes is exactly what they need right now, and he's exactly what they don't have.


May the Yankees come to regret letting Robinson Cano go the way the Mets miss Reyes right now. (Off-topic, but necessary)