PORT ST. LUCIE – Three weeks ago, Jose Reyes called his father in the Dominican Republic to tell him he had re-injured his right hamstring. The two began to cry in frustration at yet another setback in his young career.
Reyes and his father spoke again yesterday, but this time the emotions were much different. The tears were replaced by laughter as Reyes told his father he would be back on the field beginning a rehab assignment with Class-A St. Lucie that could have him back in the Mets’ lineup by Memorial Day.
“I’m ready to go,” Reyes said before the game with the Brevard County Manatees. “I’ve waited for this for a long time.”
Reyes, playing second base, turned a double play in the top of the first inning and grounded out leading off the bottom half.
St. Lucie manager Tim Teufel said he expected Reyes to play four or five innings. Reyes likely will play a few more games for St. Lucie depending on how things went last night.
“We’ll see how it goes and take it on a day-by-day basis,” Mets GM Jim Duquette said in New York. “We’ll see how he’s feeling [today]. If he’s feeling fine we’ll progress it to either seven or nine innings. We’ll make that decision [today]. We don’t have a set timetable.”
Reyes had not played in a game since April 30, when he re-injured his hamstring in a rehab start. He found out he would be in the lineup yesterday morning when he reported to the Mets’ minor league complex. He was sitting in the whirlpool when Mets minor league field coordinator Guy Conti informed him he would play second base.
The 20-year-old went back to his hotel room and called his father.
“He was so excited,” Reyes said. “He was so happy. He told me to take it easy and to remember it was just my first game back.”
It was a stark contrast to the conversation they had three weeks ago when Reyes broke down talking about his fifth leg injury in two years.
“I called my father and cried,” Reyes said of the first phone call.
“I said, ‘I don’t know what’s happening with me. It’s almost two months and this thing won’t go away. I don’t know what’s happening.’ “
If Reyes felt nervous before last night’s start, he did not show it. After taking batting practice, Reyes played Ping-Pong in the clubhouse and clowned around with teammates wearing a safari hat.
He said he was eager to get his first at-bat behind him. “That’s the most important thing,” Reyes said. “You have to explode out of the box. It’s not like taking batting practice.”
Reyes was expected to team with Kaz Matsui to give the Mets a potent middle infield this season. Instead, Reyes strained his hamstring on March 14. He was expected to be back by Opening Day but suffered setbacks on March 31 and again three weeks ago.