Veteran infielder Jose Reyes has announced its retirement from the game. The 37-year-old appeared in 16 MLB seasons.
Reyes expected to play in the 2019 season, but evidently did not attract enough interest to continue his career. It is not surprising at this point to hear that he will no longer be looking for gaming opportunities.
There is no denying how dynamic Reyes was in his heyday. During his first career with the Mets, he had 4,453 .292 / .341 / .441 plate appearances hitting with 81 home runs and 370 steals while delivering excellent gloves in the shortstop position.
By the end of the 2011 season, Reyes had accumulated four All-Star appearances and 28 rWAR. He was never better at the plate than in 2011, when he released a .337 / .384 / .493 cut to set the stage for a lucrative trip to the free-agent market.
Reyes landed with the Marlins in a $ 106MM deal. While he performed well in his first season in Miami, the team sent him and other veterans to the Blue Jays at the end of the season. Reyes supplied two more quality campaigns in Toronto before hitting a wall in 2015. That set the stage for a successful trade in which the Jays sent Reyes and prospects to Colorado to be the Rockies star Troy Tulowitzki.
While his struggles continued in 2015, Reyes seemed poised for a rebound effort the following season. Instead, he was arrested in the offseason and faced charges of domestic abuse. Although the charges were dropped because the alleged victim refused to testify, Reyes admitted that he had made a “terrible mistake” and MLB found sufficient evidence to impose a suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy.
The Mets chose to ignore the horrible situation and brought Reyes in for a second term. He provided solid production for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but dropped to a .189 / .260 / .320 cut line in what turned out to be his final season.
