If the Miami Marlins wanted to scare other teams away, the scare tactic might have worked.
Amid a Fox Sports report that the money-waving Miami Marlins were already out there with a six-year, $90 million offer for Jose Reyes, there were some initially projected suitors for the Mets free agent shortstop at the GM meetings Tuesday saying they had other priorities.
For those keeping score, count the Giants, Angels, Brewers and Nationals all out. According to the NY Daily News, the Giants want to concentrate on re-signing Tim Lincecum and find a new bat to replace Carlos Beltran.
Angels rookie GM Jerry DiPoto, when asked if his deep-pocketed team might be shopping in the high-end free-agent market for a Reyes, Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder said: “I don’t see it right now. I’m looking to create more (payroll) balance and not lock up a good deal of capital by chasing the biggest fish.”
Brewers GM Doug Melvin, when asked if the rumors about Milwaukee being active Reyes chasers had any validity, shook his head.
“As I’ve been saying, I know all the players out there,” he said, “but what I don’t know are the numbers.”
And Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he was happy with his shortstop incumbent, Ian Desmond, and sees him improving defensively. Assuming all these GMs are not just playing it coy, it could well be that the Mets’ only competition for Reyes will be the Marlins.
