After his release went through from the Colorado Rockies, it appears shortstop Jose Reyes won't be out of work for long. New York Mets' reporter Adam Rubin reported the signing would become official later today.
Reyes entered the offseason with expectations believing he would be the Colorado Rockies starting shortstop. But all that was thrown out the window when Reyes was arrested for domestic violence in Hawaii on Oct. 31 and Colorado kept him away from the team before Major League Baseball announced he would be suspended through May 31. Even before Reyes began his minor league assignment to get back in game shape, Trevor Story had long seized the Rockies' shortstop gig over a month ago.
Across nine games for Triple-A Albuquerque, Reyes hit two home runs, swiped three bases and hit for a .303 batting average with a .425 on-base percentage. Despite owing him nearly $40 million over the next two seasons, Colorado was ready to part ways with Reyes and eat the money in order to free him off the roster with no chance at a trade.
Now Reyes will return to New York, where he had spent the first nine years of his career emerging as one of baseball's greatest starts. New York will only have to pay Reyes the prorated minimum because he was released by Colorado outright, so it became a cheap, low-risk move for the organization.
Reyes will head to Triple-A Las Vegas to play more tune-up games to get more game ready, before the Mets are expected to eventually call him up after one-to-two weeks and make him a super utility player.