Mets aren’t interested in a reunion with Jose Reyes

The Mets are not interested in a reunion with shortstop Jose Reyes, who was traded from Toronto to Colorado as part of the Troy Tulowitzki trade on Tuesday morning.

Shortly after news of the trade broke, reports began to circulate that the Rockies might immediately flip Reyes — or at least try to deal him before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Reyes, 32, who played for the Mets from 2003 to 2011, is hitting .285/.322/.385 with four home runs, 16 steals, and 36 runs scored so far this season. He’s under contract through 2016 at $22 million per season and is owed a $4 million buyout in 2018.

According to Fangraphs, Reyes has been a negative player defensively at shortstop over the last three seasons.

Thoughts:

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While it’s nice to dream of a scenario where Jose Reyes returns to the New York Mets and helps lead them to the postseason for the first time since 2006, there are two major reasons why the Mets are right to not have interest at this point.

While Reyes is still a useful player, two of the things that made him special — his speed and his defense at shortstop — are diminished. In addition, his slugging percentage — which peaked at .493 during his final season with the Mets in 2011 — has been below .400 for the last two seasons.

The other main issue is that Reyes is due $22 million per season in both 2016 and 2017. More important than the fact that the Mets likely can’t afford to absorb that much salary is that it would be incredibly foolish for them to do so. Tying up one fifth of the payroll in one player is risky, and doing so for a past-his-prime Jose Reyes would be unwise.

If the Rockies are intent on moving Reyes (and they should be), perhaps they’re willing to flip him for middling prospects while eating half his salary. If they’re open to that, in turn making Reyes an $11 million dollar a year player, it’ll be an interesting option for the Mets and other teams to consider. At the moment, though, there’s nothing to discuss.