According to the Daily News, the Mets and Jose Reyes have agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension for $23.25 million dollars. The contract would run through 2010, with an option for 2011. Here is Rotoworld's analysis, since the Daily News story itself is a one-liner:
Reyes would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, and he would have been a free agent after 2009. This sets him for life in case he resumes having leg troubles, but he may be costing himself a fair amount of money, especially in his first two years of free agency. As a free agent at age 26, he could have received one of the biggest contracts in baseball history, even if he didn't get much better than he is now.
While I think they're being a little hyperbolic to say Reyes was necessarily in line for "one of the biggest contracts in baseball history," I think there's little doubt that Reyes has traded some potential 2009-10 dollars for the long-term security provided by having a multi-million-dollar contract now. And I'd have to say that makes it a good deal for him (he's set for life now!) and for the team: they can afford to trade some up-front dollars and injury risk against the security of wrapping up the shortstop spot for the next five years with a good player who may yet become a great one.