Jed Lowrie has agreed to a a three-year deal with the Houston Astros, the team announced this afternoon.
The deal, which is worth $23 million guaranteed according to the Houston Chronicle, runs through 2017 and includes a club option for 2018 that could boost the total value to $28 million.
The Mets were hoping that Lowrie or Stephen Drew would be hanging around in January and that maybe one of them would sign a discounted one year deal.
December 13
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, free agent Jed Lowrie is engaged in talks with multiple teams. Lowrie has a career .261 average and .741 OPS, but he struggled this year hitting just .249 with six home runs.
Reportedly, Lowrie is looking for a three-year deal and is being courted by Houston, while the Mets and San Francisco are also interested among other teams.
Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com is also reporting that Stephen Drew‘s agent, Scott Boras, believes that his client could sign in the near future. When asked if he had any discussions with Sandy Alderson, Boras responded that they had a nice chat about him over fruits and nuts.
Drew was solid for Boston in 2013, but he also struggled to produce this season. In 85 games for the Red Sox and Yankees, Drew batted .162 with four home runs.
Many considered Lowrie and Drew as fallback options for the Mets. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported yesterday that the Mets liked both players more than free agent Asdrubal Cabrera. However things are tightening up so quickly that even Cabrera may become a key target if Drew and Lowrie are off the board.
Sandy Alderson said Wednesday that he no longer believes the team will trade for a shortstop, but rather sign one on the few remaining free agents. But reporters noted that he would prefer to wait as long as January to address the shortstop position in the hopes he can get one of them on a discounted one year deal.
Former Mets trade targets Brad Miller and Chris Taylor of the Mariner’s are now being pursued by the Nationals.
The Mets are considering bidding on Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang, but at the same time Alderson said he preferred someone proven.
Joe D. speculated last month that the Mets were underestimating and miscalculating the shortstop market. He said the odds were that the front office would be in store for some major sticker shock and that in the end they’ll do nothing and he predicted Wilmer Flores will be the Opening Day shortstop. These last few days seem to have the Mets heading in that direction.
