WASHINGTON — Jose Reyes will wait until he returns to Citi Field on Tuesday before allowing it to sink in that he’s likely finished with the Mets again.
Just don’t suggest to Reyes he is worthy of a sendoff tour.
“It’s not about me, it’s about [David] Wright,” Reyes said of the Mets’ captain, who is set to be activated from the disabled list Tuesday and start a final game for the club four days later. “It’s all about David.”
The 35-year-old Reyes is enduring his worst major league season, and though he is hopeful of receiving another chance somewhere in 2019, the odds are stacked heavily against him.
He took a .190/.260/.321 slash line with four homers and 16 RBIs into Saturday’s game against the Nationals, hardly the All-Star who sparkled in his first Mets tenure or even the serviceable backup who contributed to a 2016 wild-card run.
“Coming here for the last couple of years, I have been blessed,” said Reyes, who departed as a free agent following the 2011 season after spending his first nine seasons with the Mets.
“I never thought that after I left I was going to be part of this organization again. Here I am for the last 2 ½ years.”
It was a reunion that materialized after Reyes was released by the Rockies following a suspension for violating MLB’s domestic-abuse policy. Reyes spent 1 ½ seasons receiving the major league minimum from the Mets — while collecting on his previous $106 million contract — before re-upping with the club last offseason.
If there was a decent return on the $2 million the Mets spent on Reyes for this season it was in the development of shortstop Amed Rosario, who has thrived in the second half. Hitting coach Pat Roessler credits Reyes and former Mets outfielder Jose Bautista for much of Rosario’s development this season.
“I don’t have a brother, but [Reyes] is like my brother,” Rosario said before the Mets’ 6-0 loss. “I grew up with three sisters, and now Jose is my brother. If he comes back or not, the friendship will last forever and we will try to enjoy this week.”
Just the mention of Rosario is enough to bring a smile to Reyes’ face. The two Dominican shortstops became friends in spring training 2017 and were inseparable following Rosario’s promotion last August.
Rosario entered play batting .337 with five homers and 21 RBIs over his previous 39 games. His 67 hits since the All-Star break were tied for seventh in the National League.
“The hitting coach is the one who worked with [Rosario] day in and day out,” Reyes said. “We just tried to give Rosie a lot of advice to try to get him better, and I think it paid off. You see what he’s able to do in the second half of the season, that is very good.
“Next season is going to be even better, because now he’s got a full year in the big leagues and he understands what is going on. Next year is going to be a real good year for him.”
If Reyes has a baseball regret it’s he’s never played in the World Series. His closest brush came in 2006, when the Mets lost Game 7 of the NLCS to the Cardinals. The Mets collapsed the following year, blowing a seven-game lead on the Phillies with 17 remaining before crumbling again on the final day of the 2008 season.
“Sometimes I think about ’06, but that has to be in the past,’’ Reyes said.
“In ’06, ’07, ’08, those ballclubs that we had there, we should have made it to the World Series at least one time, but in baseball nothing is easy and you never know what is going to happen.”