New York Mets: Jed Lowrie lands on IL, possibly worst FA signing in team history

Jed Lowrie’s tumultuous tenure with the New York Mets continues to go south.

The man was coming off a career year with the bat. An All-Star campaign with twenty-three home runs and ninety-nine runs batted in. Statistics like this from the second base position, while playing all but five games. Jed Lowrie was a legit free agent signing for the New York Mets.

At the time.

Boy, does that 2018 season seem longer ago than two years. Lowrie has been relegated to just eight plate appearances in his time with the Mets and has one walk to show for the $20M the team invested in him as a free agent.

Thankfully for the team, they are only on the hook for a prorated salary this season.

Leg injuries sidelined Lowrie in his debut season with the team and they seem to have resurfaced. Entering spring training this year, the Mets were actively seeking a trade partner to take Lowrie off their hands. Even offering to throw in some young talent to tip the scales.

Well, news broke earlier Lowrie has not recovered from what has ailed him and the team has placed him on the 10-day injured list.

Are we surprised?

This foreseeable turn of events leaves two aspects of Lowrie’s time with the Mets in doubt. Will he contribute to the 2020 team in a positive way. And, how high on the list of worst free-agent signings in Mets history will Jed Lowrie rise?

My guess is Lowrie does not see any meaningful action this year for the Mets. If he does see the field, towards the end of the year, it’ll be in mop-up duty as the Mets have fallen out of the race. If they are in the hunt for a playoff spot, Lowrie doesn’t see the ballpark.

Therefore his one walk, in eight pinch-hit appearances, over the course of two years, at the rate of $10M a season (yes, prorated this year) makes Lowrie one of the worst free-agent signings in team history.

He doesn’t have the length of contract or total dollar amount as some of the other off-season flubs in Mets history, though his forgettable existence in the Big Apple is definitely cringe-worthy.

I like Jed Lowrie. He’s a scrappy, utility infielder, who can flash the leather. Unfortunately, the New York Mets received none of this for the time, energy, and dollars they invested in him.