Wright plays good-soldier role about Reyes
David Wright and Jose Reyes look on after an inning against the Braves. (Aug. 5, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Four days after the Mets inexplicably canceled a conference call with David Wright that was supposed to address Jose Reyes' defection to the Marlins, the team released a statement Friday that was intended to sum up his reaction.
"Jose's a great friend and a great player," Wright said in the statement. "While I will miss him as a friend and teammate, I'm glad he was able to get the contract that he earned and deserved. I truly wish him all the best in Miami. I have trust and faith that we will have a much improved and exciting team and 2012 will be a great year for the Mets."
Tough to argue with the first half of Wright's canned comments. When both were healthy, the third baseman had played alongside Reyes since Wright broke into the majors in 2004. During the course of the 2011 season, however, Wright had become increasingly anxious that Reyes would wind up signing elsewhere, so the news had to be disappointing, to say the least.
In the wake of Reyes' decision to accept a six-year, $106-million contract from Miami, Sandy Alderson insisted at this week's winter meetings that it would not open the door to dealing Wright, setting off a full-blown rebuilding process. The GM praised Wright as a player and called him a "very loyal spokesperson for the franchise."
Alderson's comments help explain the latter part of Wright's statement, in which he expresses unfailing optimism about the season ahead. It's difficult to say the Mets will be "much improved" after losing Reyes, the reigning NL batting champion, unless one is thinking about the bullpen, which did get some necessary renovations in Dallas.
The Mets' two free-agent signings, Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch, were expected to take their physicals Friday, the last hurdle before the team makes an official announcement.
Santa Murphy. The Mets have scheduled their annual kids holiday party for Tuesday at Citi Field, with Daniel Murphy -- the anticipated second baseman -- donning the Santa suit. Two of the past seven Santas (Kris Benson and Jeff Francoeur) were traded the following year and two others (Mike Cameron and John Maine) suffered injuries that needed surgery.
