Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that Juan Lagares has gone from top of the world to end of the bench, but is trying to keep a positive outlook.
The Mets rewarded their Gold Glove center fielder with a four-year, $23 million contract, and expectations ran very high for Lagares entering the 2015 season.
However, Lagares began the season with a partially torn ligament in his elbow which limited his ability to use his arm as a weapon defensively and may have affected him offensively as well.
Batting just .259 on the season with a.284 on-base percentage, Lagares eventually lost his grasp on an everyday job after the addition of Yoenis Cespedes.
“Everybody here wants to play every day, but there is nothing you can do about it,” said Lagares. “You just stay ready and wait for the opportunity and try to help the team.”
Lagares, 26, could be facing Tommy John surgery after the season, although general manager Sandy Alderson has repeatedly shot that notion down.
Lagares himself says the elbow is fine now and he is not limited by it in any way.
“Right now it feels 100 percent. I don’t feel anything. That’s something I really don’t think about right now, because I feel normal.”
Don Juan, as I like to call him, is swinging the bat much better, posting a a .314 batting average and .837 OPS in his last 22 games. Lagares continues to be a formidable weapon against left-handed pitching as his .784 OPS shows.
Sorry Martin…
“He is still the future here,” Collins said. “You take some things you’ve got to get better at and you’ve got to work at them. You’ve got to work at handling right-handed pitching.”
“If that means spending all winter facing curveball machines so you can pick up the spin of the breaking ball, you do it, because we found out he has a tough time seeing the spin. Well, no wonder he swings at balls in the dirt.”
“I know I can play every day, but I have to continue working and let’s see what happens,” Lagares said. “Whatever decision they make, I want to be ready for.”
With the New York Mets unlikely to sign Cespedes who could easily demand in excess of $20 million a season, Lagares could eventually reclaim the every day centerfielder job and he has a lot of people in the front office and in that dugout who would love to see that happen.
I’ve been told that Lagares is one of the most likable players in the clubhouse and he has gained a lot of respect for how he’s handled his demotion to part-time player.
