PORT ST. LUCIE — Mets GM Omar Minaya said today it would not be fair to ask Jose Reyes to be ready to play Opening Day, and that putting the shortstop on the disabled list was the prudent thing to do.
“If you bring him back too early it’s going to be an injury risk,” Minaya said, referring to Reyes’ history of hamstring problems. “Secondly, you have to perform. Once he is in the major leagues the lights are on, and there is a combination of at-bats we feel comfortable with that he needs to be ready.
“I don’t think it would be fair to put him out there right now and expect him to perform without really having a full spring training.”
Reyes was put on the disabled list after missing three weeks of spring training due to a thyroid condition. He has been working out with the team for about a week — even playing in minor-league games and sliding head first yesterday — but the Mets decided they would start the season without him.
Reyes is first eligible to play on April 10, the fifth game of the season, but it is unknown if he will. The Mets will also be without first baseman Daniel Murphy and center fielder Carols Beltran, both of whom have knee injuries.
“They know I want to be there [Opening Day],” Reyes said. “But we have to make the right decision here. I haven’t played nine innings since last May, so after I get a feeling of that, everything should be fine.”
Reyes, who was not active today, is 2-for-10 at the plate in two minor-league scrimmages. In each game he was limited to three innings playing the field.
Reyes also has been prohibited from running hard beyond first base, but he bent that rule Wednesday when he sprinted to second and dived head first into the bag for a double.
“I’ve been doing everything with no problem,” Reyes said. “But there is baseball shape. That is the big key.”
Reyes hasn’t played nine innings since last May when he was sidelined for the season after 36 games because of a hamstring injury.
For Reyes, it has been a spring in which he received a visit from federal investigators probing the activities of reputed HGH doctor Anthony Galea. Reyes said he told the feds he was Galea’s patient, but never received HGH. Then came the diagnosis of increased thyroid levels and a return to New York, where he was told to rest. Reyes returned to camp March 24.
“Crazy,” Reyes said. “So many things have happened to me, and this is spring training. I can’t imagine that.”