Jose Reyes is a Met mainly because he loves being here and ownership loves him and — in theory — he came cheap.
That was enough to get him re-signed to a major league contract for $2 million, which isn’t much in the majors. But it came at a time when so many in his circumstance — older and showing decline — had to settle for minor league deals or not even that.
A different Jose, Bautista, did not even sign until Wednesday. A minor league deal with the Braves. To play third base. Perhaps that also reflected teams not wanting to enlist a strong-willed player in decline.