According to a baseball person, Jose Reyes could sign with the Mets as early as next week. A source familiar with the Mets’ thinking says they will offer Reyes a conservative contract they believe adequately compensates the shortstop for the value he will provide the team for the next several years. Reyes can then accept the contract, look elsewhere, or attempt to negotiate.

If Reyes does not sign with the Mets, he could field offers from various other Major League Baseball teams, especially those with payroll flexibility and a need at shortstop. He could sign with one of them soon, or at the Winter Meetings, or later in the offseason. If Reyes does not sign a contract until later in the offseason, he will likely field offers from unaffiliated Minor League teams attempting publicity stunts.

I’d continue with this again, but I don’t have the stomach for it.

Point is, the whole hot stove season — or at least the media coverage of it — is stupid. It’s fun to speculate about what a team might do. But you and me and everyone else with access to Cots and baseball-reference know as much meaningful information about what will happen this offseason as anyone who is not a MLB player agent or front-office decision-maker.

Information leaked out to the press is often leaked out for a reason. And there’s such an overwhelming glut of nonsensical, pointless and utterly unsubstantiated information reported that in the rare event a reporter might actually have a hot scoop, it will be impossible to distinguish from the mire.

Until any deal is done, no one can be certain it will happen. So all offseason baseball coverage is couched with vague language.

I’m reporting this right now: The Mets could trade David Wright but probably won’t. The Mets might sign Jose Reyes. Let me know if you see anything firmer than that published anywhere.

The more interesting discussion, of course, is whether the Mets should trade David Wright and should sign Jose Reyes. And the constant updates on both scenarios, however silly, perpetuate those discussions, however stupid.

I prefer not to repeat myself more than I already have, so here’s this: The Mets should not trade David Wright. They should re-sign Jose Reyes if the price is right. The Mets should offer arbitration to Mike Pelfrey and to Angel Pagan.

There’s a bunch of other stuff they should do, too. We’ll figure that out as it goes along.