WASHINGTON — The Mets have no specific timetable for when Jose Reyes will be promoted, though through discussions with his agent, general manager Sandy Alderson said the former star seems to be in no rush.
“What I got from the agent this morning is that he wants to be ready,” Alderson said. “When he comes up he wants to be ready. So, I don’t think he’s anxious to get here as soon as possible regardless of how he feels or what he accomplishes at Binghamton, which I think is sort of the mature way to look at it. At this point, he wants to be ready. He doesn’t want to disappoint to the extent that he can avoid it so we’re just taking it one game at a time.”
Reyes will follow the same team protocol for players who are coming off the DL. The Mets typically don’t activated them until they can play consecutive nine-inning games.
On Tuesday night Reyes played in his third minor-league game but his first with Double-A Binghamton, which faced the Altoona Curve in Pennsylvania.
While in the minors, Reyes will play only third base, though he’ll begin working in the outfield once he joins the Mets.
Meanwhile, Alderson confirmed that the signing of Reyes will not affect the team’s potential pursuit of former Cuban star Yuliesky Gourriel, partly because Reyes is willing to play other positions.
Alderson attended a 90-minute workout in Port St. Lucie on Monday, during which Gourriel fielded grounders at second and took two rounds of batting practice.
“It looks like he’s probably a very good third baseman and second baseman,” Alderson said. “Great hands, good arm.”
According to Alderson, Gourriel ran “fairly well.” But he did not take live batting practice because it has been several months since Gourriel has played.
Alderson said Gourriel’s agents have expressed a desire to select a suitor in a week or two, though that process could drag on. The Cuban defector is expected to conduct more private workouts for other teams and is expected to command a multi-year deal.
“We’re still evaluating where we are,” Alderson said. “We had a lot of people down there yesterday to take a look. We haven’t made a decision on that yet.”
Even if Gourriel signs, Alderson said the Mets believe it would realistically be nearly a month before he’d be game-ready.
With Jim Lane in Altoona, Pennsylvania
..... - Newsday