Report: Jose Reyes Would Have 'Seriously' Considered 5-Year Deal With Mets
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Would Jose Reyes have returned to the Mets for something less substantial than the six-year, $106 million deal he signed with Miami?
Marlins president David Samson said Wednesday that Reyes' decision was all about the cash. But according to the New York Daily News, the All-Star shortstop would have "seriously entertained" a five-year deal to stay in New York.
"He said, 'I really want to play in Miami as long as you pay me $1 more than anyone else,' " Samson told reporters, according to Miami Today. "'I really want to make the most money I can.' "
The choice was easy for Reyes. He never received a formal offer from the Mets, who were scared to give a long-term contract to the oft-injured leadoff man.
"If they wanted me back I should be there in New York," Reyes told WFAN's Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts in December, shortly after his formal introduction to the Marlins.
There were members of the Mets front office against guaranteeing Reyes more than four years, a source told the Daily News. Mets owner Fred Wilpon said last month that "it was clearly a baseball decision" to let him walk.
"Are we a little leery of six-year, seven-year, eight-year contracts? Yes," he said. "Is (general manager) Sandy (Alderson) leery of it? You bet. I'm big-time leery of it. So, listen, others have done it. I don't want to criticize anybody else whose done something different. We did different also, and we were burned.
"That doesn't mean there won't be some player in the future that we think we would do something with longer term, but the history has not been very good."
Mets fans, do you think Reyes would have signed for less to stay in Flushing? Sound off below...
it was all about the cash for Reyes
