Once considered a lock to grace the Citi Field outfield on a regular basis for years to come, Juan Lagares has found himself to be somewhat a forgotten man. Ben Berkon of Forbes took a look of the quick rise and fall of Lagares.
Injuries, offensive struggles and a glut of outfielders have mainly been the culprits as to why Lagares is no longer the everyday player many of us thought he was to become. His career has taken many twists and turns since winning a Gold Glove in 2014.
After winning the hardware, Lagares was rewarded with a five-year, $23.5 million contract extension. It seemed to be quite a team friendly deal to lock up the young and talented outfielder. Of course, it would not work out in the Mets favor with Lagares’ struggles in the seasons that would follow, both offensively and due to injury.
His breakout 2014 season saw him hit to a .281/.321/.382 battling line to go along with four homers and 47 RBI while playing in just 113 games. The Mets would give Lagares more of a starting role in 2015, as he played in 143 games, hitting to a .259/.289/.358 batting line with six homers and 41 RBI.
Lagares, 27, also saw his defensive skills decrease quite a bit, no longer seeming to have the gun of an arm he flashed in 2014. It had been attributed to a nagging elbow injury as per manager, Terry Collins, at the time. This past season would not be much kinder to Juan as he missed a majority of it due to a sprained thumb that he obtained while attempting to make a diving catch.
At this point, with a plethora of outfielders, it is hard to believe that Lagares will again see regular time as a New York Met. Relegated to being a late-inning defensive replacement, his value has gone down quite a bit. With the upcoming Winter Meetings getting ready to take place December 4 in Washington D.C. it is not to surprising to think he could be an add-in on any possible trade.
The Mets will not get much for Lagares if trying to trade him at this point, especially coming off injury. He though could be a good complimentary piece to a team who may find themselves with a lack of outfield depth.
It is sad to see how dramatically things turned after just one stellar season for Lagares. A player who once showed so much promise has now seemingly become an afterthought.
