Mets Sign Jed Lowrie

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Mets signed Jed Lowrie last week to a 2 year, 20 million dollar contract. Lowrie had an OPS above .800 in the past 2 years and made his first all-star team in 2018. Lowrie is a very good player, and at 2/20, he becomes a steal. Although he is a very good player, the fit seems odd at first. Mets have an already crowded infield and Lowrie makes it more crowded. But the deal makes sense, as it gives the Mets more depth and a better line-up. The Mets plan is to use Jed Lowrie at 3rd, moving Todd Frazier to the bench. With Robinson Cano at second, Jed Lowrie at 3rd, Amed Rosario at SS and Peter Alonso at 1B, Jeff McNeil is left without a position. He’ll become a super-sub and will get 400+ at-bats without a real position. He’ll likely get some playing time in the outfield, moving Keon Broxton to the bench and allowing the Mets to move Lagares’ contract. Similar to Frazier’s situation, the Mets don’t have a specific use for Lagares anymore. He’s likely going to sit a lot of the time, which is not good for a 9.5 million dollar player. The Mets have several options to handle the situation. They could keep both Lagares and Frazier and use them as depth. Depth is always a good thing and teams always need extra players in case of injuries. Another option is to trade them both and get some salary relief. Lagares is owed 9.5 million dollars and Frazier is owed 9 million. If the Mets can recover half of that money in trades, they can use that money towards getting a back-end starting pitcher or a relief pitcher. This gives them a way to improve their pitching depth, which is limited. The signing of Jed Lowrie, although it may seem odd, gives them Mets an improved line-up and gives them multiple options to improve the team further.