Mets doing little talking with Reyes

MILWAUKEE -- The Miami Marlins have aggressively pursued Jose Reyes in free agency. The Mets? They've kept in touch with their All-Star shortstop. Not much more than that.

Nothing, in other words, to change the perception throughout baseball that Reyes will leave the Mets this offseason, with the Marlins leading the derby so far.

"Nobody's promised us that we'll have the last, clear chance," Sandy Alderson said yesterday as general managers arrived in town for baseball's GMs' and owners' meetings.

"But I would expect that we will continue to talk with Jose's agents. It's been amicable, to this point."

The Mets' GM said he has maintained consistent contact with Reyes' representation, including since Reyes met with the Marlins in Miami last week.

"I wouldn't classify them as substantive," Alderson said of his talks with Peter Greenberg, Reyes' agent. "More than phone tag."

The Mets have not been aggressive at all in their pursuit of Reyes. Rather, they have stayed in the loop to see if they'll have a chance to re-sign the shortstop after Reyes has fully engaged in free agency, if his price somehow stays well under the $100-million mark.

It feels like an endeavor destined to leave the Mets without Reyes -- and possibly force them to see him 18 times a year in a newly designed Marlins uniform.

"Ultimately, that's not something we control," Alderson said of Reyes' destination.

The Marlins have made Reyes an offer, although the two sides aren't believed to be close to a deal. Brewers GM Doug Melvin said Monday that he reached out to Greenberg to express his interest in Reyes, and has held only that one phone conversation.

The Tigers, Giants, Nationals, Phillies, Braves and Cardinals are other teams that could be in the market for a shortstop. None, however, apparently has been anywhere as aggressive as Miami on Reyes.

The Mets' plan, assuming they lose Reyes, is to replace him at shortstop with Ruben Tejada and look to spend money on bullpen help.

The abundance of available relievers leaves the Mets in a position to wait and let the top chips fall -- Philadelphia signed closer Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50-million contract, featuring a vesting option for 2016 -- before seeing if they can find a bargain among a group of rehabbers and rebounders that could feature Jonathan Broxton, Matt Capps, Brad Lidge and Joe Nathan.

"It could be that we'll end up with more than one guy in the bullpen, at the back end," Alderson said.

Alderson expressed a lack of enthusiasm for committing multiple years to free agent Chris Capuano, who enjoyed a comeback season with the Mets. Given the hope that Johan Santana can contribute to the 2012 Mets, the club likely wouldn't spend too much on a Capuano replacement.

Mets assistant GM John Ricco said he expects infielder Nick Evans, outfielder Jason Pridie and reliever Taylor Buchholz, all of whom have been outrighted off the team's 40-man roster, to elect free agency.