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Mets sign shortstop Jose Reyes to minor league contract

Third base could be a possibility, or the Mets could play Reyes at second, with Neil Walker heading to the hot corner.

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New York Mets’ Jose Reyes acknowledges the cheers of the fans before a minor league baseball game with the Brooklyn …

Reyes was suspended through May 31 after being charged with domestic violence for an altercation with his wife in Hawaii last October. After making stops in Miami, Toronto, and Colorado in the time since, it appears Reyes may come full circle. “I’m just happy to continue with my career and like I said before, I feel sorry for what happened”. “Like I said, I didn’t know what to expect, but hearing people call my name and cheering for me was really special”. I’m going to stand here like a man, and I’m upset by it. “That was a bad mistake”.

Reyes is set to meet with the media following today’s game.

“He served his suspension”. Back then, it didn’t seem the Mets would want or need him. “Nobody knows what goes on in somebody’s private life and if she can forgive him the fans should be able to forgive him”, said 30-year-old Nicole Giambarrese of Staten Island.

Center fielder Rajai Davis flagged the ball down but it squirted out of his glove and bounced off his left arm. He hasn’t played anywhere but shortstop in more than a decade and has never played anywhere but middle infield as a professional. Via Newsday’s Marc Carig (on Twitter), Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the team has talked with Reyes about him playing a number of positions. David Wright, who is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to fix a herniated disk in his neck, still leads the team with three steals. The answer is simple, and one that has been pounded home all too often in America: if you’re good at sports, your personal conduct is secondary despite any and all counterfactual lip service provided. There was one thing the hits king was determined not to do when he was inducted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame. When you’re coming home, it doesn’t matter what room you sleep in because you’re going to be comfortable because you’re home.

“It was a very, very tough situation in Colorado and I think it really led to some of his problems”, Reyes’ agent, Peter Greenberg, said.

Reyes sported his familiar No. 7 and a blue-and-orange Mets helmet in lieu of the double-flap model typically worn in the minors.

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Now, according to multiple reports, the Mets are poised to add Reyes once he clears waivers Saturday, a move that would only force them to pay Reyes a pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary of $507,000. And this is why the Mets’ decision to sign him is so complex: While numerous questions about his signing pertain to the domestic violence incident, it’s also not entirely obvious to what extent he’ll resemble the player who holds the Mets’ franchise record for stolen bases and who led the league in batting average in his final year with the team.

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