Is Jose Reyes Underrated?

 

           With all of the attention with the Blue Jays’ offseason acquisitions, the majority of the attention has gone to the additions of Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, and most notably, R.A. Dickey. Along with this, the Melky Cabrera signing, and the Gibbons hire, a lot of attention has been taken away from the player who could have the biggest impact on this team, that player is Jose Reyes. There are many reasons to believe that Reyes’ impact could be the most significant and positive for this team, and here are some reasons to chew on…

                Reyes plays everyday

As much as we all love and adore R.A. Dickey and his talents, he (along with JJ and Buehrle) can only contribute and help this team every five days, whereas Jose and his talents would be able to impact this Blue Jays club everyday one way or another. Melky Cabrera plays every day as well, but his talents and impact will almost certainly not match the impact that Reyes will have at ShortStop and leading off for this revamped Toronto lineup.

                Reyes is a dynamic player

                Reyes’ talents go far beyond his infectious smile and his ridiculous rapping skills as you could argue that he is one of only a handful of 5-tool players in the league: he can hit (.291 career AVG), he can throw, he can field, he can throw, he can certainly run (410 career SB), and he can even hit for a bit of power (11 HR’s/ Season). He is truly one of the most dynamic and exciting players in the game and his ability to be in Toronto long-term makes this acquisition all the more exciting as a Jays fan, which leade me into my next point….

                Reyes is under long-term club control

                When Jose Reyes signed his 6 yr/ $106 MM deal with the Marlins in December 2011, he was expecting to be in Miami for the long haul and win a lot of games in Miami. That didn’t happen. The Marlins won a paltry 69 games in 2012 and owner Jeffery Loria decided to blow up another Marlins team in a blockbuster trade on November 13^th, 2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays that also saw Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and Emilio Bonifacio come to Toronto. Earlier in the spring, Reyes told the Toronto media that he and Jeffery Loria had talked two days before the trade went down and that Loria had suggested that he buy a house in Miami, with Reyes unaware that he was going to be dealt a mere 48 hours later. But he is here now, and for us Blue Jays fans, we couldn’t be happier and with five more years left on his deal, he is here for the long-term, so get exited Jays fans, this somewhat underrated acquisition this offseason will prove his worth in 2013.

Nicholas Bell