At the moment of writing this piece, Jed Lowrie is still a member of the New York Mets. The clarification is necessary because the team is reportedly looking to move him before the 2020 season.
Apparently, the Mets are looking for creative ways to shed Lowrie’s salary commitment, which is $10 million for 2020. After that, he will be a free agent, but the team is even considering pairing him with a controllable piece like Dominic Smith to get another team to bite.
However, is it really that bad if he stays? Depending on whom you ask, of course. If you ask the Mets privately, they will say that they’d like to move him. Jeff McNeil is at third, Robinson Cano at second, and Lowrie can no longer play shortstop. He hasn’t done it in the bigs since 2016.
After all, the team made significant investments to improve the rotation and the bullpen. They signed Michael Wacha, Rick Porcello and Dellin Betances. If they can shed Lowrie’s $10 million, they would have more flexibility.
He can help the Mets in 2020
But from a strictly baseball standpoint, Lowrie could really help the Mets in 2020 IF he is healthy. He was sidelined for all but nine games in 2019, and he didn’t even collect a hit in eight plate appearances.
But what if he is indeed healthy? The New York Mets would certainly welcome a 5-WAR backup. Yes, you read that right. In 2018 with the Oakland A’s, Lowrie hit .267/.353/.448 with 23 home runs, 78 runs scored and 99 RBI in 680 plate appearances. He was good with the bat (123 wRC+) and a plus defender at second (7.1 fielding runs.)
A year before his 5.0 WAR season in 2018, he had a 3.6 mark in 2017. If health is on his side, Lowrie will be productive.
Plus, dealing Lowrie may also mean trading a useful, controllable player like Dominic Smith. Sure, there is no room for them to play regularly, but depth never hurts. Smith can play a good first base and a bad outfield, while Lowrie can spell Cano at the keystone and Jeff McNeil in the hot corner.