27-year old switch hitting Jose Reyes played in 133 games for the Mets last season and he was 159 of 563 (.282 avg, .749 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Reyes wasn’t completely back to his old self in 2010 despite being pretty good. From 2005-2008, Reyes averaged 113.3 runs scored, 13.5 homers, 66.0 RBIs and 64.5 stolen bases per year. The Mets hope that Reyes gets back to the player he used to be in 2011. He made 15 errors in 133 games at SS last season while showing below average range. Reyes’ is a better defender than that so the Mets hope he picks it up in the field too in 2011.

26-year old switch hitting Luis Hernandez, 21-year old righty swinging Ruben Tejada and 27-year old righty swinging Chin-lung Hu are all natural shortstops who are competing for the starting job at 2B. Whoever loses out on that competition will be in the hunt to back up Jose Reyes in 2011. Tejada played in 28 games at SS for the Mets last season and he made 2 errors while showing slightly above average range. Luis Hernandez played in 4 error-free games for the Mets at SS last season while showing outstanding range. Chin-lung Hu played in 10 games at SS for the Dodgers last season and he made 1 error there while showing pathetic range. I would not be surprised to see any of these guys on the opening day roster for the Mets in 2011.

30-year old lefty swinging Russ Adams played in 108 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 101 of 383 (.264 avg, .761 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He did not make it to the majors last season. Adams last played in the majors back in 2009 with the Blue Jays. He has played in 286 games in his major league career and he has a batting average of .247 with a .685 OPS. Adams has more major league experience than the guys he’s completing with, but also less talent.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE METS SS IN 2011: B

The Mets have re-signed 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jesus Feliciano to a minor league deal. He played in 54 games for the Mets last season and he was 25 of 108 (.231 avg, .563 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. Feliciano also played in 89 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 114 of 336 (.339 avg, .793 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 1 homer, 28 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Feliciano was smart to come back to the Mets because he might have a shot to make the team out of spring training.

The Mets have signed 30-year old righty swinging 1B Chris Shelton to a minor league deal. Shelton played in 85 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last season for the Astros and he was 74 of 294 (.252 avg, .715 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 10 homers and 44 RBIs. He last played in the majors back in 2009 with the Mariners. Shelton has played in 299 in parts of five years in the majors and he is 254 of 930 (.273 avg, .802 OPS) with 132 runs scored, 37 homers, 124 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. I like this signing for the Mets as Shelton could help them off the bench at some point in 2011.

The New York Mets have inked 30-year old lefty reliever Justin Hampson to a minor league deal. He didn’t pitch at all in 2010. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Padres. He has pitched in 79 games (1 start) in his first three years in the majors and he is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Mets are taking a very low risk with a potential high reward in Hampson as he has been a pretty good reliever in the past that happens to be a lefty and those don’t grow on trees.

The Mets have signed 38-year old righty reliever Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal. Isringhausen last pitched in 2009 with the Rays. He has pitched in 621 games (52 starts) in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 45-50 with 293 saves, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Isringhausen started his career in the majors way back in 1995 with the New York Mets. He pitched four years with the Mets, appearing in 60 games (52 starts) in which he was 18-21 with 1 save, a 4.67 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. It’s too bad that the Mets weren’t smart enough in the 1990’s to convert him into a reliever, as he has been a good one when healthy. It’s never hurts to give a guy like Isringhausen another chance as the Mets can just cut him if it doesn’t work out.