Ambivalent reunion: Jose Reyes returns to the Mets
— -- Several months ago, when Jose Reyes was a veteran player shrouded in controversy and the New York Mets were brimming with optimism about a second straight playoff appearance, it was inconceivable to think he would escape baseball purgatory and find refuge in their dugout in the 2016 season.
The latest union between Reyes and the Mets, which engendered a statement of apology from the player and a cautious show of faith by Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, says something about the lengths teams will go and the potential backlash they're willing to incur when they're desperate for help between the lines. In Reyes' case, the Mets' desperation resulted in an opportunity that many baseball observers thought might never come.
The Mets added another dose of chaos to a season dotted with minefields when they announced a flurry of transactions Saturday. Brandon Nimmo, New York's top pick in the 2011 first-year player draft, has arrived from Triple-A Las Vegas, where he was hitting .328 with a .917 OPS. In a corresponding move, the Mets demoted Michael Conforto, their 2014 first-round selection, in hopes that he can rediscover his swing and his confidence amid less pressure-packed circumstances in the Pacific Coast League. In a third transaction, the Mets dipped into their past and consummated a minor league deal with Reyes, whose road back to Flushing will begin with a rehab assignment with the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones.
The three moves came in response to an offensive downward spiral that has been John Mayberry Jr.-and-Eric-Campbell, middle-of-the-lineup-caliber bad for New York. In the month of June, the Mets are hitting .238 as a team and rank last among the 30 MLB teams with 73 runs. That's 10 fewer runs than the Philadelphia Phillies, who keep reliving the Ryan Howard cleanup experience, even though he's hitting .153 this season.
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