After an 11-game stint in the minor leagues, Colorado Rockies infielder Jose Reyes is headed home.
Reyes will be activated by the New York Mets for Tuesday night’s home game against the Miami Marlins.
He hit .176 (6-for-34) and exclusively manned third base while playing for short-season Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. Edgardo Alfonzo tutored him during that stretch.
Reyes is expected to reclaim his No. 7 New York Mets jersey, which Travis d’Arnaud will give up.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
Manager Terry Collins reiterated Monday that he intends to bat Reyes leadoff with outfielder Curtis Granderson relocating to the No. 2 slot. The logic is that if Reyes gets on, first basemen will have to hold him because he is a stolen-base threat. And that should open up a hole on the right side of the infield for Granderson, even with teams heavily shifting against him.
Steven Matz (7-3, 3.40 ERA) opposes left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (4-3, 5.11) as the Mets look to up their winning streak to six games.
Reyes, 33, was released by the Rockies and signed with the Mets on June 25.
The Dominican has gotten himself into trouble off the field in recent months, however. He was arrested on October 31 following an altercation with his wife at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea, Hawaii. Reyes allegedly grabbed his wife, Katherine, by the throat and pushed her into a sliding-glass door in their hotel room. Reyes’ wife declined to cooperate with prosecutors, and a judge in Hawaii formally dropped a domestic abuse charge in April.
Major League Baseball suspended Reyes without pay through May 31 for violating its domestic abuse policy. He forfeited $6.25 million in salary as a result of the suspension.
The Rockies designated Reyes for assignment and released him shortly after the suspension was served.
“I feel like what he did was awful, terrible,” said Mets captain David Wright, a longtime teammate of Reyes’. “There’s just no other way around it. With that being said, in my eyes, he’s done what he could do to earn a second chance. If he’s going to be given a second chance, I think this is a good place for it. I think he’s comfortable here. This is home for him.”
Wright then continued: “I can’t say it enough: What he did is something that is horrible and should never be done. So I hope that he’s learned his lesson. In everything he said, it seems like he’s acknowledged the great mistake that it was and that he’s not going to let it happen again, and I hope that’s correct.”
The Mets originally signed Reyes in 1999 as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, and he was a member of the organization for a dozen years. He last appeared in a game for the Mets on Sept. 28, 2011. He went on to sign a six-year, $106 million contract as a free agent with the Marlins that December.
The Mets will have to pay Reyes only the MLB minimum salary through the end of the 2017 season, provided they pick up the option. The Rockies will be responsible for roughly $38 million.
New York will pay Reyes only a prorated share of the $507,500 major league minimum this season, or $250,617.
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 07: Jose Reyes #7 of the Colorado Rockies fields a ground ball during batting practice before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on August 7, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Falcons announced Tuesday that rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would start the team's…
In the midst of a 3-11 season with a rookie quarterback, first-year Patriots head coach…
The New York Giants will start quarterback Drew Lock in Week 16 against the Atlanta…
Former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham spoke out about his time with his old team,…
The Kansas City Chiefs are reportedly activating wide receiver Hollywood Brown from injured reserve this…
The New York Mets signed righthanded pitcher Griffin Canning to a one-year, $4.25 million deal…