It’s a move that New York Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel has been contemplating now for the last two years. Does he move shortstop Jose Reyes from the leadoff spot to the No. 3 hole in the lineup?
According to the Newark Star Ledger’s Brian Costa , Manuel might no longer be contemplating the idea, but moving forward with it. “I think he’s ready for that if it’s something we need,” Manuel said of Reyes batting third. “This could be a part of his evolution as a player.”
The plan would be to have Angel Pagan in the leadoff position with Luis Castillo batting second, followed by Reyes. Either David Wright or Jason Bay would bat cleanup.
I could see why Manuel would be considering this move. Without Carlos Beltran for who knows how long, the Mets’ lineup is pretty weak right now. The 6-7-8-9 of Jeff Francouer, awful catcher platoon, weak first base platoon, and pitcher doesn’t scare anyone.
With those guys at the bottom of the order, Reyes will have very little opportunities to drive in runs. When you only have three legitimate All-Stars in your lineup, you need to give those All-Stars every opportunity to drive in runs and create offense.
Now with Reyes batting third, he will have more RBI opportunities presented to him.
And if you are wondering if batting Reyes third will take away from his ability to steal a base, the answer to that questions is absolutely not.
Here is the reason why.
Reyes will still steal bases because A) With a weak lineup, the Mets need to generate offense and he will always have the green light and B) The Mets don’t have an intentional walk-type cleanup hitter hitting behind him.
If the Mets had, let’s say Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, or even Adrian Gonzalez hitting behind Reyes, I would say his stolen base numbers would decrease. If Reyes steals first leaving first base open, then the opposing team would just walk Pujols, Bonds, or Gonzalez. Reyes would be more inclined to stay at first, so those guys can hit.
But the Mets will have Wright or Bay hitting behind Reyes in this scenario. Both are proven All-Stars, but can be pitched to. Neither strikes overwhelming fear in the opposing pitcher, so Reyes won’t be locked to first base.
I think if Reyes hits well in the three-hole, the Mets should leave him there when Beltran comes back–if he does. I think a 2-3-4-5 of Beltran, Reyes, Wright, and Bay would give New York their best lineup.
From a fantasy perspective, a move to third in the Mets’ lineup increases Reyes’ value tremendously. With an improved RBI total for Reyes, he could move up to the second or third best fantasy shortstop behind Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki in 2010.
You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @theghostofmlg .
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