Jose Reyes Trade From Colorado Rockies To New York Mets Hits Rocky Road Thanks To Petition Opposing Move

Jose Reyes might want to be a New York Met again, but it doesn’t appear fans of the team are as excited for his return in trade from the Colorado Rockies. Some New York Mets fans aren’t content to simply voice their displeasure at a Jose Reyes reunion through talk radio, the Internet, or letters to the editor. Some of the fans are so against the trade for the shortstop, who is still a member of the Colorado Rockies, that they have started a petition in order to show their dislike of the idea.

This isn’t a situation where fans of the Mets are against Reyes because they don’t believe his bat or his speed will help the team. New York fans are against acquiring Reyes specfically because of the domestic abuse he’s been accused of in the very recent past. That domestic abuse charge is why the shortstop hasn’t played a game for the Rockies yet this season. Colorado now has rookie Trevor Story playing well enough to keep the position, and they are actively looking for something to do with the veteran player they acquired in a trade last year.

NJ.com reports the petition against Reyes, started by Mets superfan Olivia Devlin, doesn’t yet have a ton of support but continued publicity is sure to draw more attention. As of 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning, the petition had just 87 signees, but as of noon central that number had grown to just over 100. In the description of the petition, Devlin talks about the domestic abuse charge, which stems from allegations Reyes shoved his wife through a glass door while the pair were vacationing in Hawaii during the offseason. The petition makes the following statement.

“The response to the suggestion that Jose Reyes be signed by the New York Mets disgusts me. People are openly defending his actions and attempting to downplay the seriousness of domestic violence, and in some cases are blaming his wife. I do not want to think that the Mets organisation thinks that it is OK to support domestic abusers, or that by being a Mets fan I am somehow enabling this behaviour. I love the Mets, but I will not be allied to anything that believes domestic violence is acceptable behaviour.”

The reason there has been so much talk about Reyes moving from the Colorado Rockies to the New York Mets is because the defending National League champ desperately needs some help in the offensive department. Sources have told the New York Post that the Mets are very interested in Reyes, even if he’s aging and carries baggage with along with a somewhat expensive contract.

The Mets are interested in trying Reyes at third base, second base, and shortstop, one of the reasons they think he might be someone who can help their offensive woes. The asking price from the Rockies would likely not be particularly high considering its well known the team is trying its best to unload him. The low asking price from the Rockies is just another in what has become a litany of reasons why New York wants to make the trade.

The question now is just how much this petition is going to gain steam and become a bit of a roadblock when it comes to acquiring Reyes. The team has made it clear that if there was a reunion, there would need to be a public addressing of what happened with the player and his wife. So far, Reyes has kept quiet about the incident. There’s no guarantee fans of the New York Mets would be remotely happy with a return of Jose Reyes, even if he did finally open up about the charges.

[Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images]