Jose Reyes has agreed to a nine-figure, six-year contract with the Miami Marlins after the ball club pursued the shortstop for over a month.
Pending a physical, Reyes’ contract will give him $106 million for six years with the Florida team. Initially, the Marlins made a $90 million offer, but it was raised to secure the 28-year-old player.
The team’s current shortstop and fellow all-star Hanley Ramirez has never played another position, but if the deal becomes official, it is likely Hanley will be moved to third base, with Reyes as shortstop.
Reyes has a .292 career batting average, a .341 on-base percentage, and 370 stolen bases, making him one of the fastest players in baseball.
Last season, the Dominican shortstop was the National League batting champ with a .337 average, with a .384 on-base average. However, he was often a member of the disabled list, as he was troubled with relatively frequent leg problems. From 2005 to 2008 with the Mets he never played fewer than 153 games a season, but last year he managed only 126.
His deal with the Marlins comes after the Mets were reportedly only willing to give him a five-year contract of somewhere around $75-80 million.
Reyes has been with the Mets since 2003 after being called up from the minor leagues the day before his 20th birthday.
