Ed Delany/MMO
As per Matt Ehalt of The Record, New York Mets infielder Jed Lowrie hasn’t resumed running since being diagnosed with a left knee capsule sprain earlier in Spring Training.
Lowrie, 34, signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Mets on January 10, giving this roster yet another solid depth cog who can play multiple infield positions adequately (second and third base, mostly; hasn’t played shortstop regularly since 2014).
Over 680 plate appearances for the A’s in 2018, Lowrie slashed .267/.353/.448 with 23 homers, 99 runs batted in, 37 doubles, a .347 weighted on-base average, 119 weighted runs created plus rating, and 4.9 wins above replacement (FanGraphs).
After battling injuries through the 2015 and 2016 seasons for the Astros and the Athletics, respectively, the 11-year MLB veteran played in 153 and 157 games over the 2017 and 2018 seasons for Oakland.
Tim Britton of The Athletic quoted Mets manager Mickey Callaway saying “the Mets may be more cautious with spring injuries this year to make sure players return closer to 100 percent”, noting Michael Conforto, Jason Vargas, and Anthony Swarzak‘s sub-par performances last year as evidence of players struggling being akin to missing time during Spring Training.
Callaway expanded on those sentiments to Matt Ehalt of The Record.
“That lesson last year makes us be a little more proactive of maybe another conversation after they say, ‘I’m ready to go’,” he said. “Maybe there needs to be a more serious conversation to push them on it a little bit.”
That doesn’t sound great, but this is precisely why Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen insisted on deepening this organization’s major-league roster (Robinson Cano, Keon Broxton, Adeiny Hechavarria, et al), as well as reinforcing its upper-minors depth a la J.D. Davis, Rajai Davis, Gregor Blanco, and Carlos Gomez, among others.
With Todd Frazier still sidelined (oblique) but reportedly ready to begin ramping up his efforts to get back on the field, Callaway told the Mets’ press corps that they’re exploring all their options, including moving Jeff McNeil back to the infield.
“We have options [at third base]. We’re still discussing whether or not we need to make an adjustment with McNeil and bring him in there,” Callaway said (video via SNY). “We have [Hechavarria] who can play over there. We have J.D. Davis, who I think has done a pretty good job over there. So we have some options and there’s still a lot of Spring Training left […].”
Hopefully, both Lowrie and Frazier will return in short order, but it’s certainly nice to “have options” in the meantime.
