Mets veteran Jose Reyes wants to finish his career with the team

Still sounds so weird referring to Jose Reyes as a veteran, but aside from Asdrubal Cabrera, he’s the only one still on the team. But will he be on the Mets much longer?

Well, he wants to be. Jose Reyes has made that quite clear, not only through his actions by taking Amed Rosario, the rookie who has taken over Reyes’s SS position (at least before he was day-to-day with a bruised finger), under his wing, but he said so as well.

"“Did I want to come here? For sure,” Reyes said. “Do I want to finish my career here? One hundred percent. At this point I just want to be here because it’s home for me and this is where I feel comfortable playing, but I don’t have that in my hands.”"

Will the Mets hold onto Reyes? I think so. They got rid of all their other veterans. We have no idea when David Wright will be back. Is Reyes the ideal clubhouse leader? No. He will forever be that 21-year-old kid bouncing around (and if you watch his Snapchat stories you know he still is that). But he has a love for this team that can be contagious, and clearly Rosario has already caught it. The other rookies will too.

Plus, on top of this, it’s absolutely not a secret that the Mets don’t like to spend money. And Reyes will be the lower-cost option for the team, especially when compared to an Asdrubal Cabrera.

Let’s also not forget that the Rockies are still the ones responsible for the majority of Reyes’s salary. Meanwhile the Mets are paying him the major league minimum of just over $500,000. Do you think they’ll be giving that deal up unless they absolutely have to (ie need to spend money on another player?) Probably not.

Yes, the Mets have already hinted at looking at third-base options, and if they do, Cabrera will likely get his wish granted and finally be off this team, as he will not be needed anymore in the middle of the infield due to Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera. And, again, if this in the case, the Mets will likely opt to keep Reyes over Cabrera, as it’ll mean less money they have to spend.

Next: Where does Cecchini fit in 2018?

But, if the Mets don’t get a third baseman, they need Cabrera. And that may just change everything. So is Reyes going to be here next season? Likely, but not definite.