Named an all-star at both the Single and Double-A level, he scored 104 runs, hit 19 triples, stole 58 bases, and said With Ordonez due $6.2 million, Reyes’ emergence would be a boon. “Unless something changes, Rey is signed for next year,” the GM said. Phillips said Reyes will start 2003 in Triple-A, though. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

“He’s got electrifying speed, and he’s going to be an impact player for years. “He’s going to be exciting,” said Phillips. After seeing Ordonez field like the ball was a grenade, Met fans would’ve loved to suit Reyes up this past weekend. The 19-year-old phenom grew up outside Santiago, Dominican Republic, too poor to buy a glove and using a milk carton as a replacement and oranges for a ball.

Shortstop Jose Reyes, MVP of the Futures Game, the minor-league All-Star Game, picked up his Sterling Award as the club’s Minor League Player of the Year. The brightest hope for the future was at Shea on Sunday, even though he wasn’t playing. “We felt fortunate the guy was on the waiver wire – $20,000 for a player with “eight” speed, the highest level of speed, that kind of guy in the amateur draft would cost a lot more than $20,000.”īy comparison, Phillips said Roger Cedeno was graded a seven, and Mookie Wilson likened the former UCF receiver’s speed to Vince Coleman’s. It’s just a matter of making enough contact,” Phillips said. “Esix can run, and he’s been able to play major league defense for years. There’s also lightning-fast Esix Snead, and Marco Scutaro, who replaced Rey Ordonez at short after the latter made his second error of the day, and team-high 19th of the year. Or Ty Wigginton, who filled in for Mo Vaughn at first Sunday. Like call-up catcher Jason Phillips, who hit his first big-league homer on Sept. And there are others trying to leave an impression on GM Steve Phillips. 322 in his 15 Met starts.īut at his age, he knows his chances to prove himself a big-leaguer are fading. Gonzalez, the player to be named in the Shawn Estes deal, was the International League MVP. I just have to keep playing as hard as I can, do the things I’m told, and find ways to help the team.” “I know the older I’m getting, the chances get thinner and thinner.

“We’ve got to be ready – we’re here, it’s a test for us, and we’ve got to pass that test, be ready every day, for any kind of situation, and jump in,” said outfielder Raul Gonzalez, who’ll turn 26 in December. They get another chance, starting tonight in Pittsburgh. And while the front office tries to fix the bad chemistry and worse PR, those young players are trying to ensure their place for 2003. In the clubhouse are September call-ups, career farmhands and waiver-wire claims. 500 illustrates just how bad this last-place, scandal-ridden season has become for them. That the Mets need to run the table in their final seven games just to finish at.

Iturn 26 in december