"Now comes the business of the Mets trying to field a competitive team without Jose Reyes.

As Mets fans howled yesterday — many vowing to begin an un-Occupy Citi Field movement to show their displeasure over losing Reyes to the Marlins — questions swirled over the direction of the franchise.

"The tell-tale sign is going to be, what do we do with the money that we originally were going to give [Reyes]?" pitcher R.A. Dickey said. "How do we fill out the rest of the team?"

General manager Sandy Alderson began providing clues at the Winter Meetings, saying the Mets have about $20-25 million to spend, a number that would have been significantly lower had the team re-signed the All-Star shortstop. Reyes' deal for six years and $106 million with the Marlins is expected to become official tomorrow."