Jose Reyes offered apologies and a penance in his settlement with Major League Baseball over his domestic violence case. But his return to baseball isn't predicated on just doing and saying the right things and serving a sentence.
Reyes will be 33 years old next month, and there are doubts among a lot of evaluators as to whether he is still worthy of playing in the big leagues, concerns that have nothing to do with what allegedly happened between he and his wife in Hawaii last fall.
"His skills have deteriorated," one longtime scout said. "He's a release candidate for me."
Said another: "I'm not sure what he has to offer."
Reyes will get a chance to show what he has left in the weeks ahead. Under the negotiated terms of his suspension, Reyes will be permitted to play in extended spring games at the Rockies' complex in Arizona until June 1. If all goes well and he's healthy, Reyes can then report to a minor league team for a rehabilitation assignment.
He has a limited future with the Rockies at best because, in his absence, Trevor Story has won Colorado's shortstop job with a flurry of homers and personal reliability, and even if Reyes is added to manager Walt Weiss' big league roster, this will not alter Story's long-term standing with the organization.
Sources say other teams do have interest in Reyes, to see whether he can help them, but that's only if Colorado eats almost all of the salary owed to him through the end of next season. Reyes will make about $15 million this year and $22 million next year, with a buyout of $4 million for a 2018 contractual option that presumably won't be exercised.
Reyes is a four-time All-Star and needs 96 hits to reach 2,000 in his career, with a finish in the top 10 in NL MVP voting -- a decade ago. Last year some evaluators thought that what once made him great had all but disappeared. In 116 games, Reyes had a .310 on-base percentage, a number you might be able to live with, one scout said, if his defense was passable.
But evaluators said that Reyes' unusual throwing motion, from a low slot, became a problem, his accuracy greatly diminished, and some believe Reyes' hands -- which were never great -- had worsened. The metrics tracking his defense bear that out: Although he was limited to 116 games, Reyes ranked in the bottom six among all major league shortstops in defensive runs saved. "You'd see him go back on a popup," one evaluator said, "and it wasn't the same athleticism."
Some shortstops, like Ian Desmond, will change position as they get older, but the perception among some scouts is that Reyes' erratic arm would make him unworkable at third base, and because he also doesn't hit for power -- he had a .378 slugging percentage in 2015 -- he couldn't be a consistent option in the outfield. One evaluator opined that Reyes' best option is to transition to second base, where he would have more time to overcome some of his defensive shortcomings.
Wherever he winds up, in whatever uniform, he is unofficially on the clock as he returns to baseball, beyond the suspension he continues to serve. Maybe he'll regain some of his skill and the energy that once distinguished him, but Jose Reyes is about to begin the first of his last few chances to be a big leaguer.
The Rockies seem to have moved on without him, Nick Groke writes.
The ban for Reyes turns out to be less than what a player gets for PED use, and that's a problem, Kristie Ackert writes.
Potential trade fits for Reyes
Some shortstop and middle-infield situations that could be in a state of flux by the time Reyes' suspension nears an end:
Angels: They just lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a thumb injury for an extended period, and while they traded for Brendan Ryan earlier this week, Reyes would probably add more offense.
White Sox: Veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins, signed to a one-year deal for this season, has a .692 OPS.
Rays: Tampa Bay has had difficulty fielding a reliable shortstop in recent seasons, and current starter Brad Miller is hitting .204.
Reds: If Cincinnati takes advantage of shortstop Zack Cozart's trade value, it could move Cozart and add Reyes.
Padres: San Diego's starting shortstop, 34-year-old Alexei Ramirez, is on a one-year deal.
Notables
• On Friday's podcast: Agent Scott Boras explains the logic behind signing the Stephen Strasburg deal now rather than testing free agency in the fall; Karl Ravech and Justin Havens address the question of whether Clayton Kershaw is the greatest of all time; and Alex Speier of The Boston Globe on David Price's adjustment and the Red Sox's offense.
• Matt Bush made his major league debut, almost a dozen years after he was drafted first overall by the Padres.
• Yankees starter Luis Severino walked off the mound Friday with discomfort in his elbow. This could be what the doctor ordered, John Harper writes. Severino has gone from rising star to this, Ken Davidoff writes.
Meanwhile, Chris Sale dominated the Yankees on Friday.
From ESPN Stats & Information on how Sale won:
He was efficient: Sale averaged 3.0 pitches per batter faced, his second-lowest average in 124 career starts. He retired 14 batters on the first or second pitch, three more than any other start in his career.
He pounded the strike zone: Sale threw 75 percent of his fastballs (two- or four-seam) in the zone, the highest percentage in a start in his career. That's also the highest percentage by any starter in a game this season (minimum 40 fastballs). Sale also recorded 15 outs with his fastball, tied for the second-most in his career.
He kept the ball down: Sale threw 69 percent of his fastballs in the lower half of the strike zone or below it, the highest percentage in a start in his career.
• The Phillies continue to be masters of the one-run decision. They are 13-3 in such games.
• Jose Bautista offered some words of support for Chris Colabello, writes Brendan Kennedy. From his piece:
Speaking at an event Friday in support of an organization that cautions young athletes against using performance-enhancing drugs, Bautista said he believes Colabello's claim he did not knowingly ingest the anabolic steroid for which he tested positive earlier this year.
"If anything, I'm more concerned about the integrity of the (league's drug-testing) program and what can be done to make sure that those systems that are in place are fully transparent and human error is taken into account," the Blue Jays right fielder said before Friday's series opener against the Texas Rangers.
Colabello, who enjoyed a breakout season with the Jays last year, was suspended 80 games last month after he tested positive for a steroid developed by East Germany as part of its Olympic doping program and is only available today on the black market. But in an interview with the team's official broadcaster, Colabello insisted he never knowingly took any banned substance and "won't rest" until he figures out why he tested positive.
Bautista said he expects the MLB Players' Association to address "situations like Chris'" and others where "people, like Chris, with integrity" insist they did nothing wrong.
"The issue still exists that for some reason that substance was in his body, so that has to be cleared up as well," Bautista said. "So I'm not trying to say just because he's a nice guy he can get away with just saying he didn't do it. But I think that it needs to be looked at in more detail and applied to his individual situation to make sure that everything that was done was fully transparent and that the testing was not compromised in any way."
• Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak, but the Red Sox lost. Boston starter Steven Wright said in an interview last weekend that the worst possible weather conditions for his knuckleball are damp and rainy, and that's what he dealt with Friday.
• San Francisco's Joe Panik clubbed a homer, and Santiago Casilla got a two-out save, as John Shea writes. Earlier in the day, Casilla had apologized to Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
• Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling got his first major league win in a start against his college roommate.
• Reds pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and manager Bryan Price were surprised the pitcher was suspended for three games. Here's video of what happened.
• Justin Verlander pitched well, but the Tigers still lost. Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera tells Katie Strang he wasn't satisfied with his own performance.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. Cardinals pitcher Seth Maness was assigned to the minors for a tuneup. From Derrick Goold's story:
Maness packed a bag and left Dodger Stadium to join the Triple-A affiliate as soon as Saturday, and carried with him the diminished velocity and flighty command that contributed to a 6.39 ERA and 25 baserunners in 12 2/3 innings. He has a list of glitches he needs to fix, starting with his mechanics.
He hasn't been assured a return.
"If not, it's going to be a short career," Maness said. "I've been hurting other guys in the bullpen, not being able to pick up innings that I should."
To take Maness' spot in the bullpen, the Cardinals promoted lefty Dean Kiekhefer. The reliever was expected to arrive in Los Angeles shortly before the Cardinals opened a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Kiekhefer, 26, will serve as a third lefty for the Cardinals and a possible lefty specialist. A 36th-round pick in the 2010 draft, Kiekhefer had an impressive spring training with the big-league club, and he had not allowed a run at Class AAA Memphis before his 1 2/3-inning appearance Thursday. He has a 1.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings.
Kiekhefer could serve as the team's first lefty specialist used this season, and he arrives in time for that duty against the Dodgers' Adrian Gonzalez and, next week, Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez. Kiekhefer has held lefties to a .105 average this season.
2. Dillon Gee is moving into the Royals' rotation.
3. Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields was demoted.
4. The Pirates summoned an infielder.
5. The Rangers signed veteran pitcher Kyle Lohse to a minor league deal.
6. Pitcher David Carpenter signed with the Angels.
Dings and dents
1. Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock's absence is having a ripple effect. His rehab work is said to be going very well, though.
2. The Angels' injury issues are beyond absurd: Now Cliff Pennington is injured.
3. Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis has begun a minor league rehab assignment.
4. The Padres, being careful with Andrew Cashner, have placed him on the disabled list.
5. Rain pushed back pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez's rehab start by a day.
6. Oakland's Mark Canha could need surgery, Susan Slusser writes.
7. Injured Brewers reliever Will Smith has made progress.
Friday's games
1. Chris Tillman pitched great for the Orioles.
2. R.A. Dickey shut down the Rangers and the Blue Jays won.
3. Lance McCullers was back in action for the Astros. Meanwhile, Houston outfielder George Springer had himself a day, Jake Kaplan writes.
4. The road-weary Royals took a step in the right direction, Tod Palmer writes.
5. Rich Hill helped pitch the Athletics past their losing streak.
6. Pitcher Matt Harvey struggled for the Mets.
7. Julio Teheran pitched well, but the Braves lost.
8. The Angels ended a losing streak.
9. The Cardinals played sloppily, Derrick Goold writes.
10. The Cubs are back to their winning ways.
11. Pitcher Junior Guerra dominated for the Brewers.
12. Jon Gray got his first major league win.
AL West
• The Mariners are in first place; now the challenge is to keep it going, Bob Dutton writes.
• Larry Stone writes about why no one should be embarrassed about jumping on the Mariners bandwagon.
AL Central
• Cleveland's Yan Gomes got out of his offensive funk for at least a night.
• Marlon Byrd mashed the pivotal hit in a Cleveland comeback.
• The Twins had a bullpen meltdown. They're still looking for double digits in wins.
• A Twins pitcher has been working on his balance.
NL East
• Bryce Harper got a pitch to hit.
• The Washington bench continues to be potent.
• Latin-American influence is paying off for the Phillies, Bob Brookover writes.
• Matt Harvey has a ton of worries and no answers, Kevin Kernan writes.
NL Central
• Jed Hoyer fits perfectly in the Cubs' front office.
• Cubs catcher David Ross is within reach of a milestone.
• The Pirates haven't been able to find any solutions against the Cubs.
NL West
• Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig showed signs of breaking out of a slump. He has handled his slump with humor, Andy McCullough writes.
• Diamondbacks All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is in a little slump.
• A Colorado prospect is off to a good start.
• A Padres pitcher made his debut.
Lastly
• The Nationals will sell "Strikeouts are Sexy" T-shirts.
And today will be better than yesterday.