When healthy, Jose Reyes is one of the best shortstops in baseball. If healthy, he's worth what the Marlins are paying him.
The "when healthy" part is the problem, though...check out his stats, and in particular, his games played the last three seasons, compared to the rest of his career:
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | 17 | NYM-min | Rk | 49 | 159 | 132 | 22 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 37 | .250 | .359 | .318 | .677 |
2001 | 18 | NYM-min | A | 108 | 435 | 407 | 71 | 125 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 48 | 30 | 10 | 18 | 71 | .307 | .337 | .472 | .809 |
2002 | 19 | NYM-min | A+,AA | 134 | 622 | 563 | 104 | 162 | 26 | 19 | 8 | 62 | 58 | 24 | 46 | 77 | .288 | .343 | .444 | .787 |
2003 | 20 | NYM-min | AAA | 42 | 181 | 160 | 28 | 43 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 26 | 5 | 15 | 25 | .269 | .333 | .356 | .690 |
2003 | 20 | NYM | NL | 69 | 292 | 274 | 47 | 84 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 13 | 36 | .307 | .334 | .434 | .769 |
2004 | 21 | NYM-min | A+,AA | 10 | 44 | 41 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | .195 | .227 | .244 | .471 |
2004 | 21 | NYM | NL | 53 | 229 | 220 | 33 | 56 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 31 | .255 | .271 | .373 | .644 |
2005 | 22 | NYM | NL | 161 | 733 | 696 | 99 | 190 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 58 | 60 | 15 | 27 | 78 | .273 | .300 | .386 | .687 |
2006 | 23 | NYM | NL | 153 | 703 | 647 | 122 | 194 | 30 | 17 | 19 | 81 | 64 | 17 | 53 | 81 | .300 | .354 | .487 | .841 |
2007 | 24 | NYM | NL | 160 | 765 | 681 | 119 | 191 | 36 | 12 | 12 | 57 | 78 | 21 | 77 | 78 | .280 | .354 | .421 | .775 |
2008 | 25 | NYM | NL | 159 | 763 | 688 | 113 | 204 | 37 | 19 | 16 | 68 | 56 | 15 | 66 | 82 | .297 | .358 | .475 | .833 |
2009 | 26 | NYM | NL | 36 | 166 | 147 | 18 | 41 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 19 | .279 | .355 | .395 | .750 |
2010 | 27 | NYM-min | A+ | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
2010 | 27 | NYM | NL | 133 | 603 | 563 | 83 | 159 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 30 | 10 | 31 | 63 | .282 | .321 | .428 | .749 |
2011 | 28 | NYM-min | AA,A- | 4 | 13 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .385 | .667 | 1.051 |
2011 | 28 | NYM | NL | 126 | 586 | 537 | 101 | 181 | 31 | 16 | 7 | 44 | 39 | 7 | 43 | 41 | .337 | .384 | .493 | .877 |
9 Seasons | 1050 | 4840 | 4453 | 735 | 1300 | 222 | 99 | 81 | 423 | 370 | 92 | 333 | 509 | .292 | .341 | .441 | .782 | |||
162 Game Avg. | 162 | 747 | 687 | 113 | 201 | 34 | 15 | 12 | 65 | 57 | 14 | 51 | 79 | .292 | .341 | .441 | .782 |
2009 was a lost season for Reyes, 2010 wasn't great, and while Reyes led the league in hitting in 2011, he still missed significant time. Shortstop isn't exactly a physically non-taxing position, and since he relies so heavily on his speed, injuries that impact his ability to run are going to disproportionately impact his value.
Miami has already signed Heath Bell to a 3 year, $27 million deal, and are supposedly also in on C.J. Wilson, although I don't think they're all that serious about Wilson (who I think ends up in Washington this week) or Prince Fielder, another guy they've flirted with.
Reyes has been their top target since the offseason started, though, and it looks like the Marlins are about to land him.