According to various reports from the beat, as expected, the New York Mets have officially declined the $9.5 million option they held on outfielder Juan Lagares for the 2020 season, making him a free agent.
Lagares, 30, was the longest-tenured Mets player on the roster, with seven seasons in Queens under his belt. His time in Flushing was marred by injury and underperformance, but, as evidenced by his 2014 Gold Glove Award, his strength on the field lied within his glove.
Juan Lagares was a .254/.297/.361 hitter over 716 games with the Mets — nothing spectacular — but racked up 82 defensive runs saved (third-most among NL outfielders from 2013 to 2019) and an 11.5 ultimate zone rating per 150 innings in the outfield during his time here.
In other roster news, second baseman Joe Panik (.277/.333/.404 over 103 plate appearances with the Mets after signing with the team on August 9) and left-hander Donnie Hart (one appearance, one clean inning) both declined outright assignments to Triple-A Syracuse, making them free agents, as well.
We’ll keep you posted with any additional updates.
