The trash talk started weeks ago.
José Reyes has been hearing it from some of his fellow former Mets ahead of next weekend’s first-ever Alumni Classic baseball game at Citi Field — and he’s been dishing it out, too.
“I saw Matt Harvey the other day at the stadium,” Reyes told the Daily News. “He said, ‘José, I’m getting ready to get you out.’ It’s like, oh, you’re getting ready? I’m getting ready, too.”
Indeed, bragging rights are on the line when the retired players from two different generations face each other for three innings on Sept. 13 before the Mets’ real game that afternoon against the Texas Rangers.
Reyes is part of Team Shea Stadium, which is made up of players who suited up for the Mets in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including many from the 2000 team that won the National League pennant.
Among the others are Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez, Al Leiter, Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Delgado, Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile and Mike Hampton. Willie Randolph and Bobby Valentine are set to serve as Team Shea Stadium’s managers.
They will face Team Citi Field, which features many of the players who led the Mets to the World Series in 2015.
That roster includes Harvey, Johan Santana, Noah Syndergaard, Bartolo Colón, Curtis Granderson, R.A. Dickey, Ike Davis, Rubén Tejada and Juan Lagares. Terry Collins and Jerry Manuel are managing Team Citi Field.
The Mets hosted a traditional Old-Timers’ Day in 2022, inviting back players from every era of their six-decade history, including members of the 1969 and 1986 World Series teams.
But many of the players in this year’s Alumni Classic are still in their 30s, 40s or early 50s.
“It’s gonna be exciting because it’s gonna be a lot of young guys there,” Reyes, 42, said. “I’m telling you, everybody is prepared for this game. Not only me. I’m telling you, not only me. I’ve been talking with a few guys when I was with David Wright [for his number retirement in July]. I saw like 10 guys, and they said they’re getting ready.”
Reyes’ ramp-up started earlier in the summer, before he went on a month-long trip to his native Dominican Republic. Upon returning to New York last month, Reyes resumed his workouts.
He had just completed a batting practice session before he hopped on the phone with The News.
“I’m taking this seriously, because the last one that I played in, I didn’t feel too happy about my performance,” said Reyes, who participated in the 2022 Old-Timers’ Day. “I feel like I have to do better, so that’s why I’m getting ready earlier.”
The memory of a lazy fly out against John Franco in that Old-Timers’ Day game serves as a motivator for Reyes.
And although he’s disappointed he won’t get another chance to face Franco, who is recovering from a shoulder replacement, Reyes says he feels good about his swing.
“One step at a time,” Reyes said. “I’m not 20 no more. I’m 42, so I don’t want to get hurt before the game, but it’s coming along good. It’s coming along very good.”
Reyes enters the Alumni Classic in a unique position, considering his stints with the Mets from 2003-11 and 2016-18 overlapped with both generations.
The speedy, switch-hitting shortstop ranks first in Mets history with 408 stolen bases, second with 1,534 hits and third with 1,365 games played over 12 seasons.
The four-time All-Star led the NL in stolen bases in three consecutive seasons from 2005-07, swiping a career-high 78 bags in the last of those years to set the Mets’ single-season record.
Reyes left the Mets before the 2012 season for a six-year, $106 million contract with the Miami Marlins, and he also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies.
“The Mets were the first team to give me an opportunity when I was 16 years old,” Reyes said. “To get from where I lived in the Dominican, how poor I was, and they put me in a great position. They put me and my family — my dad and my mother and my little sister — in a great position to live.
“I know in 2012 I signed in Miami, but I never, ever wanted to leave New York. I waited until the last moment so they could offer something, and I’d be a Met for my whole career. I know it’s a business, but my heart, my blood, it’s always gonna be for the New York Mets.”
That’s why Reyes, who lives on Long Island, has remained associated with the Mets since retiring.
These days, he regularly attends games to greet suite holders, but he’s interested in turning his partnership into something more like that of Beltrán, who holds a role in the Mets’ front office.
“I’d love to,” Reyes said. “We’re talking about it.”
Reyes has approached retirement with an open mind, from his partnerships with Chamelo Eyewear and San Giuseppe Cigars to his continued work as a musician under his nickname, “La Melaza.”
His latest project is a real-estate investment in Vista Cana, a high-end apartment community in Punta Cana, D.R., that is currently under development.
And this season, Reyes became a contributor on SNY, making appearances on shows including “Baseball Night in America.”
“In the beginning, it was kind of weird for me,” Reyes said of his TV work. “I never thought I would be talking on TV because my English is not perfect, but people like when I go on SNY, and I like it, too. … I played the game for a long time. I have to speak from what I think. I have to be honest with people. “
But even with all of those ventures, Reyes was first and foremost a baseball player.
He’ll become one again at the Alumni Classic, where he hopes to prove he can still hit a home run.
“I’m trying to,” Reyes said. “And I’ll try to steal a base, too.”
