Before the season started, Jose Reyes was coming off two seasons in which he played a combined total of 169 games.

Conversations (in the media) about signing him to an extension floated numbers like 5-years, $75 million, maybe a bit more. Nobody knew his exact value because of his streakiness and injury history, so some speculated it to be around there while some placed it a bit higher.

But then, the season started. What did Reyes do? Reyes hit. And hit. And hit. His MLB-leading .354 batting average is 26 points higher than Hunter Pence’s whose is second in the NL at .328. With every tick up in the batting average, his speculated free-agent contract followed suit.

Yet, there was a pop.

A pop in his hamstring, and a pop in the dream of Mets fans who were seeing one of the most dominant seasons for a leadoff hitter in recent memory. And now, whether or not the Reyes or Mets camp is willing to admit it, the conversation has changed. (And I’m not talking about “secret negotiations”)

The injury doesn’t neccesarily devalue him on the open market (though, I suspect it does on a small scale), but it’s a crude reminder of the inherent risks that go with contract negotiations. In a now-regular poll on Mets Blog, Matt Cerrone asks fans whether or not they would top a 7-year, $140M contract offer to Reyes. This offseason, Reyes and his agent probably would have accepted one year and $40M fewer in a heartbeat. Two weeks ago, they would have sneezed at such an offer.

Nonetheless, we’re here again after another Reyes injury unsure as to how much he’ll command on the open market.

The issue isn’t that Reyes is injury-prone - he’s had trouble staying healthy, but that isn’t a fair label for him; some of the injuries such as the Thyroid one have been freak in nature. Yet, it serves as a universal reminder of why it is so inherently dangerous to offer somebody a giant contract, regardless of how good he is. There can be a good case made for Reyes being the NL MVP to date, but baseball is a game with injuries, and nothing is worse than paying the big bucks to a guy who can’t play. The Mets, just as much as any franchise, have been victims of financial dead weight either due to over-valuation or injuries.

To reiterate - it’s not because of Reyes’ injury history in particular that they should be wary, just the fact that general fiscal prudence warns against signing anybody to that large of a contract. Just look at Johan Santana. From 2004-2008 he was the epitome of consistency and good health, starting in 33 or 34 games every season, only to now have his career in question.

The trade for Santana prospect-wise was still definitely a steal, but the long term contract the Mets gave him and fans didn’t think twice about questioning now is a major albatross.

The Mets and Sandy Alderson are unfortunately stuck in a tough situation. On the one hand, the fan base so clearly wants a change in philosophy from the Omar Minaya years in which handing out expensive, long-term contracts was the status quo. Yet, now, we sit here praying Alderson does just that in order to keep Reyes around, when (as good as he is, which is very good) it is likely he will be overpaid. That’s not a knock on his skill, just that the great majority of expensive, long-term contracts in baseball end up being very player-friendly.

And, the last thing the Mets need is more dead-weight on the books. Signing any player to a long-term contract, no matter how good he is, poses the chance for that.

This is not to say the Mets’ shouldn’t resign Reyes, because I hope they do just as much as the next person. It’s just that an injury, even a minor one, serves as a cruel reminder as to the realities of the game. It’s tough to think about because Reyes’s season has hardly seemed like reality; after all, when was the last time Mets fans could sit down and watch a player, and expect him to get multiple hits in a game? On some level, it feels like regardless of the money and risk, the Mets need him for those hits, that energy and the excitement he generates in the fan base.

Fortunately, this is also a cruel reminder to Reyes. Whether he’s worth $75M or $150M, one bad crack of a bone or snap in a muscle makes him worth $0. So, here’s to hoping he and the Mets find a reasonable middle-ground, because taking risks in life is only worth it when you’re doing it with the right people, right?