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New York Mets: How to handle the infield logjam

By Josh Ejnes

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: Jeff McNeil #68 of the New York Mets celebrates scoring a run with Todd Frazier #21 during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: Jeff McNeil #68 of the New York Mets celebrates scoring a run with Todd Frazier #21 during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 20, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 3: Jed Lowrie #8 of the Oakland Athletics bats during the game against the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium on October 3, 2018 New York, New York. The Yankees defeated the Athletics 7-2. Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 3: Jed Lowrie #8 of the Oakland Athletics bats during the game against the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium on October 3, 2018 New York, New York. The Yankees defeated the Athletics 7-2. Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

Jed Lowrie

Jed Lowrie’s last two years have been confounding. For most of his career, Lowrie has appeared to be a decent second baseman whose value was offset by frequent injuries. As of late, he’s liked like an entirely different guy.

Because Lowrie played in a small market and isn’t particularly flashy you might not realize just how good he’s been in recent years. The only second basemen who rank above Lowrie in fWAR over the past two seasons are Jose Ramirez and Jose Altuve, and he’s also in the top five for UZR over the same time period.

All of this makes Lowrie a great get for the Mets, but how will he fit into the roster as it’s currently constructed?

Out of the infielders the Mets have on their depth chart right now Lowrie is probably the one most proven in a “utility” role, so it’s likely we’ll see him move around quite a bit, at least at the beginning of the season.

If Todd Frazier isn’t able to bounce back after a so-so 2018 it’s possible that Lowrie becomes the everyday third baseman. He has more experience playing down the middle, but Robinson Cano, at least for now, seems to be the team’s set second baseman.

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