QUEENS — If New York Mets fans wanted a crash course in orthopedics, all they have to do is track the injury status of veteran third baseman, Jed Lowrie.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen offered an update on the hampered Met Thursday afternoon, who signed a two-year contract before the start of the 2019 season and has only had seven at-bats with the team.
Still not much clarity.
Lowrie is suffering from what is called PCL laxity, which Van Wagenen described as “looseness of the knee,” after undergoing a second opinion from doctors on Wednesday.
“The report back was really not that inconsistent from what we already learned,” Van Wagenen said. “I think the PCL laxity is something we’ve known… it’s been the root of his problem for several months.”
Van Wagenen noted that this wasn’t known when the Mets initially signed Lowrie to his two-year, $20 million deal.
There seemed to be an initial hope at the start of summer camp following the coronavirus hiatus that Lowrie could find a way back on the field — at least that was the message extended by Mets management.
However, it was met with immediate skepticism when Lowrie was seen wearing a bulky brace on the knee. When he tried to convert to a smaller brace, the pain increased, according to Van Wagenen.
“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.”
The obvious problem, though, was an inability to effectively run the bases or play defense.
Still, Van Wagenen is holding out hope that Lowrie can return by not placing him on the long-term injured list.
“If we get to that point [where he can run efficiently], I don’t see it taking too long for him to get ready,” Van Wagenen said.
Let the waiting continue.
