Bacardi Untameable - The unexpected durability of Jose Reyes

The promise of Opening Day lasted, in earnest, all of one plate appearance for the Toronto Blue Jays. Though they arrived in Tampa Bay poised to put a miserable season behind them, the club's rose-colored aspirations sobered moments after the Star-Spangled Banner's last lyrics echoed throughout Tropicana Field.

Jose Reyes, the club's veteran shortstop and offensive catalyst, didn't take the field in the bottom of the first inning after harmlessly flying out to center field to lead off the game, in what appeared to be an innocuous plate appearance. The viewing audience was quickly informed, however, that Reyes, who battled a hamstring strain throughout the latter stages of Spring Training, aggravated his condition during his first at-bat of the season, leaving a considerable void in the middle of the diamond.

"First of all, coming into that game I was feeling a little bit concerned about my hamstring, but I just wanted to be on Opening Day, wanted to be from the beginning of the season with the team," Reyes recalled Wednesday.

An Injured Reputation

It was, by his own admission, hardly an unexpected development. The 31-year-old's medical history is decidedly dubious, featuring a litany of injures - a healthy blend of freak injuries and chronic conditions - that have dogged him throughout his 12-year career in the majors. Reyes has spent 281 days on the disabled list since the beginning of 2009, missing time with a host of hamstring problems, an oblique strain, and a severe ankle sprain that marred his inaugural season in Toronto.

The image of Reyes clutching his mangled left ankle on that miserable April evening, tears streaming down his face as he was carted off the field at Kauffman Stadium, remains an indelible tableau for Blue Jays fans, many of whom were only first introduced to the ebullient shortstop 10 days earlier. An awkward slide quashed his auspicious start to the 2013 season - Reyes hit .395/.465/.526 through his first 10 games - and, rightly or not, reinforced his reputation as a player incapable of staying on the field.

It's ironic, then, that Reyes emerged as one of the Toronto's most dependable players this season, a fixture atop a lineup decimated by injuries for much of the season. Though his Opening Day setback consigned him to the disabled list for 18 days, Reyes appeared in more games this season than every one of his teammates but Jose Bautista.

"When I'm healthy, I love to be on the field no matter what's going on," said Reyes. "If my hamstring feels good enough to go, I'm going to be on the field. Sometimes I get a little discomfort in my hamstring but I feel like I'm able to play and help my ballclub - it means a lot because last year I only played 90-something games."

Reyes has so far appeared in 140 contests, marking only the second time since 2008 he's played at least 85 percent of his team's games. His waning extra-base power and deteriorating defense came under scrutiny this year, but Reyes stills ranks ninth among shortstops with 3.0 Wins Above Replacement, with a hearty 1.64 Win Probability Added, the top mark for his position.

"I feel happy," said Reyes, who has missed only two games since the All-Star break. "Playing over 140 games, last time I did that was (with) Miami in 2012. Last year, I came in here and wasn't able to do it. This year I was able to do it, so I just feel happy about that."

Smarter with Age

His newfound durability, however, isn't simply a consequence of good fortune. Reyes, an accomplished base-stealer, made a concerted effort on the basepaths to select more judiciously his opportunities to pilfer an extra 90 feet. His 30 stolen bases represent a massive departure from his halcyon days with the New York Mets - he averaged 64 steals per season from 2005 to 2008 - but increased selectivity has resulted in improved efficiency in addition to sustained health, as he's been caught stealing only twice this season.

"One thing that I do is that when I get on base, I pick my spot to steal," Reyes said. "I used to get on base and go and steal anytime, in any situation, but now I just pick the good situations that the team needs a stolen base.

"I understand that my teams needs me on the field, [so I] have to go back on my game a little bit to make sure that I'm going to play 140-something games."

Though he's not as prolific as he once was, a more discriminate approach has yielded tremendous results for the four-time All-Star, as no other player with at least 30 stolen-base attempts has proven as efficient as Reyes in 2014:

(Courtesy: Baseball-Reference Play Index)

Defense Matters

Reyes' success on the bases, however, hasn't helped to ameliorate concerns over his defense, as he ranks third among shortstops with 19 errors this season while posting career-lows in both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved. Though defensive metrics are hardly infallible, Reyes himself suggester his bothersome hamstring curtailed his range this season, particularly in recent weeks.

"It's been a little while with some problems in my hammy," Reyes said. "One month or so, (it's) given me a little bit of a problem moving side to side, even running on the basepaths."

Reyes, however, intends to modify his offseason regimen to better maintain his health throughout a grueling six-month season and, ideally, restore some of the range that once made him a plus defender at shortstop.

"(Head trainer George Poulis) was talking with my trainer, they'll try to put a plan together for me because, you know, I think I need to change the way that I'm working out in the offseason a little bit," Reyes said. "Playing on this turf, it's going to beat up your body a little bit in the full season because it's not easy to play (81) games on that turf."

Reyes' efforts went for naught in 2014, as the Blue Jays stumbled to yet another autumn without postseason baseball. The impending departure of both Melky Cabrera and Colby Rasmus, meanwhile, will change the complexion of the Toronto's lineup next season, leaving an alarming paucity of offensive weapons beyond Reyes, Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Lind (when applicable).

But when the Blue Jays open the 2015 season next April with three games in the Bronx, it will be Jose Reyes who steps to the plate first, unfettered by some of the injury concerns he carried to the plate with him five months ago in Tampa Bay. And the notion of a completely healthy Jose Reyes is reason alone to get all misty about the promise of another Opening Day.