Scout: Don’t Reed into recent woes

SANDIEGO — It had been 25 straight appearances since Addison Reed had given up a home run. The Mets’ de facto closer had been dominant over the past two months, but in the final 10 days before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the club’s best asset to trade wavered in his last two appearances.

The righthander, who took over closing duties when Jeurys Familia was suspended and then needed shoulder surgery, has been scouted by almost every contender, including the Red Sox and Dodgers. He is the Mets’ best bet to bring back a legitimate prospect in a trade. And his latest hiccup has not affected that. “He’s fine,” said a scout for a National League team who scouted the Mets this season. “Something like that isn’t going to affect how teams see him. We’ve been watching him over a long period of time.”

After being pulled before retiring a batter on Friday night, Reed gave up a solo home run to Hunter Renfroe on Monday. He then gave up back-to-back doubles and came inches shy of giving up a second home run before wiggling his way out of the jam. On Tuesday, he gave Mets fans more agita, allowing one run on two hits as the Padres closed to 6-5 in the ninth, before stranding a runner on second base for his 18th save.

It’s surprising, because after a slow start to the season, Reed had been solid for the last two months. He had allowed just three earned runs over his last 18 appearances.

“His command is much, much better,” manager Terry Collins said. “Addi is a guy who lives on the corner. When you are seeing him have success, he is one of those guys, when he needs to make the pitch, he makes the pitch.”

While Reed insists that the rumors about his pending departure don’t interest him, the Mets are trying to keep their players focused. Collins has had conversations with many Mets players like Reed, whose names keep popping up in trade rumors.

“I try to tell them many times, this time of year, everything is out of their control. The only thing they can control is how they play out on the field,” Collins said. “That’s how they get paid. That should be their main focus”

That includes conversations with Asdrubal Cabrera, who asked for a trade when the Mets moved him from shortstop to second base last month. “There are a lot of teams looking at him, a lot of teams looking for a third baseman. And he’s played great. It could be a motivation,” said Collins. “I just told him to go out and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. The rest will take care of itself.”