Does it make sense for the Giants to acquire Jose Reyes in a trade? Yes, it does, but there are some caveats.
For one, it is way too early for the Mets to consider trading him. If they have another bad month in May, then the organization might consider throwing in the towel and seeing what they can get for their shortstop. But the smart move is to wait until the trade deadline to maximize their leverage, at which point other teams needing a SS (Boston?) would jack up the Mets asking price.
But if the Mets do decide to trade Reyes in the next month, the Giants should certainly consider pouncing. The baseball season is long, and typically I’m not inclined to give up on veteran players this early in the season. But Miguel Tejada looks bad, at both the plate and in the field. Hell- he’s 37. A much more celebrated 37 year-old shortstop I can think of also looks cooked, and the list of effective everyday shortstops of that age or higher is short. I think that before long the Giants will have to cut their losses and either release Tejada or relegate him to strict backup duty.
Reyes, when healthy as he appears now, is an excellent player likely to put up something in the neighborhood of 5 wins in a season. As a conservative estimate, the difference between a Jose Reyes and a Miguel Tejada at SS for the rest of the season might be worth 3 wins to the Giants, which as you will remember is greater than the difference between the Giants and second-place Padres last season.
What will Reyes cost? He earns $11 million and will be a free agent at season’s end. Given their financial difficulties the Mets would probably expect whichever team acquires Reyes to assume his entire salary. Even with that in mind, the Mets will also want significant talent in return. Do the Giants have that talent on hand to give the Mets?
Assuming that everyone on the major league roster plus Brandon Belt is untouchable, the Giants have little left in the cupboard. Zack Wheeler is their best pitching prospect, so I would imagine any proposal would have to start with him. The Giants may also be forced to part with some of their lower-level prospects as well. I think it goes without saying that the Giants’ system would be gutted by a trade for a player of Reyes’ caliber.
Then comes the issue of free agency. The Giants don’t really have any long-term options at shortstop waiting in the minors so would presumably be interested in signing Reyes. But can they afford him? Remember, the Giants are going to either sign Tim Lincecum to a significant contract extension or will be forced to pay him north of $20 million in arbitration. Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez will soon become very expensive as well. And lest we forget, Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand still eat up a combined $30 million. Could the Giants afford to pay Reyes, still surprisingly young at 28, $15 million a season over the next five or six? Tough to say.
I’d love to have Reyes, but it looks like the Giants likely won’t be in position to get him. Perhaps a cheaper shorstop will be made available (J.J. Hardy or someone) but otherwise we may be stuck with the carcass of Tejada and the Fontenots of the world.