Miami Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes was one of the most coveted players on the free-agent market last year. Reyes signed a six-year, $106 million contract with The Marlins after spending the first nine years of his career with The New York Mets. Marlins general manager Michael Hill went crazy on the spending front in the offseason as he also acquired manager Ozzie Guillen from The Chicago White Sox while signing closer Heath Bell and starting pitcher Mark Buerhle which immediately put The Marlins in contention on paper.
The Marlins entered this season with the seventh highest payroll in Major League Baseball at $118 million which was a far cry from this franchise using coupons to sign players previously. With the brand new Marlins Park opening in Miami, The Marlins could no longer cry poverty and they now had to spend money. The Marlins have stumbled out of the gates this year and the reflections are shown in the attendance as they averaged just over 28,000 fans per home game which is currently 18th in baseball this season.
The Marlins recently had a premature fire sale that saw All-Star third baseman Hanley Ramirez being shipped to The Los Angeles Dodgers. Infielder Omar Infante and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez were sent to The Detroit Tigers while Gaby Sanchez was sent to The Pittsburgh Pirates. The Marlins didn’t even wait to win a World Series this time to dismantle the team as they previously did after winning in 1997 and 2003.
Now Reyes has to ask himself if this is what he signed up for? Reyes took the money to go to Miami and he also looked forward for the chance to play with his good friend Ramirez as Reyes happens to be the godfather to Ramirez’s children.
As Reyes returns to Queens this week for another round of jeers from Met fans, his Marlins are in the basement of The National League East while The Mets are in third. Reyes’ .288 batting average is currently leading the team which can be attributed to his current 24-game hitting streak which is a career best for the native of The Dominican Republic. His understudy with The Mets Ruben Tejada has a .323 batting average through 64 games played this season with 8 errors committed while Reyes has committed 13 errors in 108 games.
I do not think that Reyes should get comfortable in Miami because it will only be a matter of time before Reyes is put on the market as well. The Marlins appear to be reverting back to a small payroll as they look content with having a new stadium. Reyes’ contract is backloaded as he will only receive $10 million in each of his first two seasons. Reyes is scheduled to make $16 million in 2014 while earning $22 million in each of the last three seasons on the deal.
Reyes is no longer the lead-off batter in Guillen’s lineup as he has been shifted to third following the departure of Ramirez. Reyes now has more opportunities to drive in runs and increase his value on the trade market along with his base stealing ability. There is a very slim chance that Reyes will finish out his career in Miami.
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