Mets continue roster overhaul, sign Jed Lowrie to 2-year deal

The New York Mets have bolstered their lineup by signing free agent infielder Jed Lowrie to a two-year deal.

The Mets continue to remake their roster with the signing of former A’s All-Star infielder Jed Lowrie to a two-year deal worth $20 million.

This is an interesting move for the Mets given they traded for Robinson Cano to play second base back in December. And with Todd Frazier already at third base and Amed Rosario at shortstop, it’s not entirely clear what Lowrie’s role will be. He can play multiple positions in the infield but has logged most of his innings at second base.

The Mets could try moving Cano over to first base to make room for Lowrie at second. Or perhaps they will make some sort of corresponding move to create more infield space.

An annual salary of $10 million may seem surprising for a player entering his age-35 season, but Lowrie is coming off a career year with the A’s. In 2018 he posted a slash line of .267/.353/.448 with 23 home runs and 99 RBI, making his first All-Star team.

Despite such a strong campaign last season, it might be unrealistic to expect similar numbers in the seasons to come, especially in the power department. And as far as run production goes, Lowrie’s previous career-high in RBI was 75, which he posted in 2013. He will be moving from an A’s team that had a top-15 team batting average in 2018 to a Mets team that ranked second-to-last.

The Mets are hoping for a rebound, though. They aren’t looking to rebuild in 2019. They intend to compete in an NL East division that looks to be highly competitive. The Phillies and Braves both look to be contenders, and with or without Bryce Harper, the Nationals should be much better than they were in 2018.

Jed Lowrie’s bat will help improve a Mets offense that left a lot to be desired in 2018. And with a rotation featuring Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, they will look to contend once again.