Marcos Mendoza| January 13th, 2019
According to reports from Jeff Passan the New York Mets and Jed Lowrie came to an agreement yesterday on a 2yr $20 million deal. Lowrie is a 10-yr vet and has spent the last spent the last 3 seasons with the Oakland Athletics.
Lowrie is a versatile infielder who can play 2B, SS, and 3B, but he has spent most of his time as a 2B in his career. In 2018 Lowrie became a first time all-star at the age of 33 as a replacement for Gleyber Torres. His slash line in 2018 was .267/.353/.448 with a .801 OPS, and .181 ISO. At the age of 33, Lowrie finished with 23 HRs, 99 RBIs, 122 wRC+, and a 4.9 WAR which were all career highs. Lowrie led all AL 2B in HRs, RBIs, and was 2nd in wRC+ and WAR. He is a well-rounded player and one of the most respected players in the league.
Last season the Mets had two players split time at 2B over the course of the season. To start the year the Mets had veteran Asdrubal Cabrera at 2B but, they were out of the playoff race at the trade deadline and they flipped him to the Phillies. To finish the season the Mets went with 26-yr old rookie Jeff McNeil. Together Cabrera and McNeil finished with a 2.2 WAR and a 2.7 WAR. The Mets 2B finished 2nd in WAR in the NL last season and they also added veteran 2B and former AL MVP Robinson Cano in a trade with the Mariners this offseason.
New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen has sought out to improve their offense this offseason and he’s done that with the addition of Lowrie. Lowrie may not necessarily be a fit with the Mets but at 2yrs 20 million Lowrie brings excellent value with his veteran experience, versatility in the infield and his offensive power surge in a Mets lineup that was lacking power in 2018. It’s unclear where Lowrie will see most of the time next season with the abundance of infielders the Mets have. He’s expected to see time all over the infield with some time at 2B, SS, 3B and he may even play 1B next season.
The Mets are looking to have a bounce-back season in 2019 after finishing 2018 with a record of 77-85 finishing 4th in the NL East and missing the playoffs. Lowrie will certainly be an important player to the Mets lineup next season and I expect Lowrie to continue what he did in 2018 and be one of the Mets top hitters in 2019.
Lowrie’s deal was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Follow Us on Twitter @thescorecrow
Follow Us on Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Follow Marcos Mendoza on Twitter @MendozaM_12
Main Credit Image: [getty src=”1053776544″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]
