If the pressure on Jeff Hoffman, Jesus Tinoco and Miguel Castro wasn’t already high to “perform” as the pitchers acquired in the Troy Tulowitzki trade, that pressure has certainly grown within the last 24 hours since news has surfaced that the other key part of that trade, Jose Reyes, was arrested on Halloween for domestic assault charges in Hawaii.
MLB.com writer Thomas Harding, who covers the Colorado Rockies, joined Gil Whiteley on Mile High Sports AM 1340 to discuss the situation, which is in its early stages of investigation.
Whiteley had the one question on his mind that most Rockies fans do right now: “Can the Rockies just dump him for idiocy?”
That’s a question whose answer is yet to be determined, according to Harding. As he wrote on Tuesday, Reyes could be the first player disciplined under the league’s newly adopted Joint Domestic Violence Policy, which was signed by Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Major League Baseball Players Association in August.
Harding told Whiteley that he’s been inquiring about whether or not the Rockies could completely sever ties with Reyes as a result, based on the new policy, but has not yet received word from his sources.
He did say, after the interview via Twitter, that the commissioner will have authority, not the club. Manfred will also have leeway to rule on a suspension even before the formal legal process plays out.
Didn't know much when we talked. I've learned in cases like this, the Commissioner has the authority, not the club. https://t.co/yzyttC1FZn
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) November 10, 2015
The details of that process are still coming to light, as Harding indicated that he has not seen the official police reports as of yet. All the information in the case to date has come from Hawaii News Now and The Maui News.
The incident makes the challenge of trading Reyes, who has already expressed interest in leaving Denver unless the team is winning, even more difficult. The reality, Harding points out though, is that Reyes would have been a difficult player to move regardless of this reported misstep.
Reyes has three years remaining on his contract, each at $22 million, per spotrac. His final year, 2018, has a $4 million buyout. At 32 years old and with declining productivity, Reyes was going to be a challenging player to trade just from a financial standpoint. The fact that he was vocal about wanting out of Denver added additional leverage for trade partners.
Harding suggests that Reyes was not likely to attract much trade attention, and certainly not for the kind of young, promising arms the Rockies need. If anything, Harding says he might be a player teams are willing to trade for another bad contract.
Rockies fans might be holding out hope that the Joint Domestic Violence Program will give the team a “get out of a bad trade free” card. Colorado played a similar card with Denny Neagle back in 2004 when the pitcher was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. He was released by the team, citing a morals clause in his contract, less than a week after the incident.
No doubt the club will be watching closely (lobbying would be in poor taste), as Manfred deliberates Reyes’ fate.
Listen to the full discussion between Harding and Whiteley in the podcast below…
Catch Gil Whiteley every weekday from 11a-1p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of what’s new and what’s next in Colorado sports.