It looks as though Jed Lowrie’s New York Mets career really will have consisted of just eight plate appearances.
The Mets announced on Sunday that they placed the veteran third baseman on the 45-day injured list due to a knee injury that Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen described as PCL laxity on Thursday.
In that same conversation, Van Wagenen disclosed that he was hesitant to put Lowrie on the long-term IL because “we think the player can help us.”
“He was MLB ready offensively from both the left side of the plate and right side of the plate,” Van Wagenen said. “He had as many professional, quality at-bats as anybody in camp.”
While his bat was up to speed, Lowrie was relegated to summer camp in a bulky knee brace that protected the area that has constantly provided injury issues throughout his career. When he tried to transition to a smaller brace, the pain increased, according to Van Wagenen. That obviously makes running the bases or fielding his position impossible.
The decision effectively ends Lowrie’s career as a Met — though it never really began.
Lowrie, 36-year-old used a career season with the Oakland Athletics (.267, 23 HR, 99 RBI) as leverage toward a two-year, $20 million contract with the Mets before the 2019 season.
Almost immediately, injuries began to hamper the former All-Star and he didn’t make his Mets debut until September of 2019. After eight plate appearances (seven at-bats) over nine games, he was shut back down for a remainder of the season where he has not been heard from since.
Forty-five days from now — when Lowrie’s IL stint is finished — will be Sept. 16. The Mets’ regular-season schedule ends 11 days later where it will be close to impossible for the infielder to make an immediate return to the team’s ranks.
So, for $20 million, the Mets got a player who went 0-for-7 with one walk and four strikeouts over two seasons.
Chalk that up as one of the worst contracts in franchise history.
