The Road Back For Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes begins his return to Mets as a Cyclone: A First Hand Look

 

By Neil Ilagan, Staff Writer

 

Jose Reyes made his return to New York Sunday afternoon in Class A ball with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Reyes, who was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies on June 15th, was eligible Saturday afternoon to sign with a new ball club. Reyes was the topic of discussion in New York sports all across social media. When the clock struck 1pm on Saturday, news surfaced that the Mets and Jose Reyes came to an agreement and would immediately report to Class A to play for the Cyclones the next day.
A sea of Reyes jerseys flooded MCU Park in Brooklyn.  A seating attendant of ten years for the Cyclones said “This is the most fans I’ve seen in a long time.” ‘You can feel the electricity in the ballpark again” said a fan wearing a 2011 Reyes all-star jersey.
As the PA announcer read the list of the Cyclones defensive starting lineup, the crowd went wild for Reyes when his name was announced at third base. Some seated but mostly standing, the crowd cheered for Reyes extensively as he took a moment to wave and flash a smile to the fans before taking ground balls.
jose reyes_cyclonesJose chants erupted throughout each of Reyes’ at bats.
Reyes went 0-3 on the day as he struck out while asking for timeout in the bottom of the first inning, grounded out to 3rd base on the first pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and reached base on an infield fly in the bottom of the 5th. But his offense was not much of a concern.
The biggest question by many was if the former shortstop can adjust to playing a new position at third base.
Reyes’ first play at third was a pop fly in foul territory, which the former shortstop caught with ease in the top of the 2nd inning. Another pop fly was caught by Reyes in the top of the 5th. It wasn’t until the top of the 6th when we got to see how good Reyes’ arm is at third. He handled a ground ball hit down the line to third base and quickly fired a straight line to first to close out the inning. Although the accuracy of the throw was on point, usually, you’d hear the smack of the glove from a throw by Reyes at shortstop but because third base is a bit further in distance, the velocity of the ball slowed down as it reached first.
Fans began to make their way to the exits as Reyes did not take the field at the top of the 7th inning. The Brooklyn Cyclones went on to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays affiliates, the Hudson Valley Renegades in a low scoring matchup 1-0.
Reyes will continue to play third base for the Cyclones in a few more rehab starts and sources say he might also play a little outfield. He was signed to the Mets to fill a utility role on the roster, as the Mets can’t seem to shake the injury bug at this point of the season.
Reyes is scheduled to play Monday as the Cyclones close out a three- game set against the Renegades at home in Brooklyn and then start for the Mets Binghamton Double-A team Tuesday night as he makes his way back to Citi Field that is expected at some point later this week.

Comment to Neil:  Queensnativestyle@gmail.com

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