Mets' GM Steve Phillips seemed prepared to stick with his plan to leave SS-S Jose Reyes in the minors for the season, but he evidently was unable to think of an appropriate birthday present for the team's star position prospect. With SS-R Rey Sanchez returning to the disabled list yesterday, New York called up Reyes.

On the eve of his 20th birthday, Reyes made his debut as the starting shortstop in the Mets game in Texas last night. Batting ninth, Reyes didn't come to the plate until the third inning, which he opened with a single to right off RHP John Thomson for his first major league hit. His hit started a small rally in which he crossed the plate for the first of two New York runs. Reyes came up again in the fourth and grounded out to third base, but in his third plate appearance of the night, he hit a double into the left field wall off LHP Aaron Fultz. His last at-bat of the game ended the eighth inning as three Texas fielders converged to make sure his pop up to shallow left field was caught. Reyes should be pleased with his first major league game even if the Mets did lose 9-7 to the Rangers.

The Mets signed Reyes as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1999. He played for Kingsport in the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2000, advancing to A Capital City in the South Atlantic League for the 2001 season. Reyes then split last year between A+ St. Lucie and AA Binghamton in the Eastern League. A hamstring injury hindered him in the early months of this year. When the Mets called him up, he was hitting .269 with a .333 OBP and .356 SLG on 43 H, 6 2B, and 4 3B with a 15:25 BB:K and 26/31 SB% in 160 AB at AAA Norfolk in the International League. His speed is evident and I wouldn't be surprised to see him develop a little power as he matures physically. He's demonstrated solid plate discipline in the past, so I'm sure that his walk rate will improve as he spends more time at AAA.

New York believes Sanchez will return on the 21st when he is first eligible to leave the DL, as he merely continues to have trouble with his strained left thumb. The Mets reportedly intend to leave Reyes in the majors only as long as Sanchez remains on the disabled list. This visit to the majors is supposed to allow Reyes to get his feet wet and move past his major league firsts. New York shouldn't risk having him log sufficient playing time to qualify early for arbitration, and he'll make a stronger impact on the league after additional time at AAA. Nevertheless, provided he's producing, I think the Mets will have difficulty demoting one of the few bright spots on a team buried at the bottom of the NL East.