Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will be entering free agency after the 2011 season, and given the financial situation the team is facing now, it may be a wise move to save cash and move the infielder now.

Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com believes that Reyes will be traded before the the trade deadline. The 27-year old has no veto trade power and this will be the first time since 2008 that he will begin a season injury-free, which make him a prime candidate for a trade. Rojas adds that Reyes could get a contract in the $100 million range just by having an average year.

An unidentified scout also speculated that if the team doesn’t sign him to a new deal, he will be traded. “Someone is going to get a great player at the trade deadline,” said the scout.

Traditionally, agents set a deadline of the end of Spring Training to create leverage when negotiating a deal.  However the Mets and Reyes’ agent, Peter Greenberg, are open to discussing a new deal during the season.

Reyes though, is not going to make the negotiations easy for the Mets.  He’s optimistic about the season.

“There’s no doubt in my mind I’m going to score over 100 runs,” Reyes said.  “It’s like a weight has been taken off my back,” he added. “I feel 100 percent. I feel I have something to prove.”

“I still have one more year here,” he said. “I have to focus and do my job this year. I’m healthy and ready to go. Whatever happens after this year happens.

“There’s no doubt I can put it all together again,” Reyes said.

This is not the first time we have talked about Reyes and the possibility of him being traded. Last week, Buster Olney of ESPN speculated that he could be a fit for the Giants in case Miguel Tejada crash and burns.

The 28-year-old signed a four-year, $23.25 million contract that started in 2007, and the team exercised a team option in 2011 for $11 million in November.