Mets “Freezing Cold Takes” that did not turn out as planned

Jed Lowrie would get at least one hit as a Met

This really did not seem like much to ask. When the Mets signed Jed Lowrie to a two-year deal in January 2019, he was coming off of an All-Star season with the Oakland A’s that landed him at number two on MLB Network’s “Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now” list entering the 2019 season. He was expected to provide quality infield depth alongside the recently-acquired Robinson Cano, who ranked as the fourth-best second baseman in baseball at that time and add a potent veteran bat into the Mets lineup.

Unfortunately, Lowrie was a mysterious presence in the Mets organization almost as soon as he arrived in spring training. A series of knee injuries and setbacks with ever-increasing severity limited him to just seven at-bats as a Met, all of them in September 2019.

After an initial MRI in February 2019 for a sore left knee, Lowrie had a myriad of injuries over the next couple of years including a capsule strain, a hamstring strain, and something called “PCL Laxity” that I guarantee no Mets fan had heard of before this news broke. Lowrie was such a non-factor for the Mets that his very existence was questioned by the entire fanbase, to the point where our trusty beat writers had to send out tweets like this.

The fact is, I have the same amount of hits in a Mets uniform as Jed Lowrie. Given that he is an MLB player and I am not, this does not reflect well on the Lowrie signing.

Fernando Martinez would be a star outfielder in Flushing

For several years in the mid-2000s, one Mets prospect was indisputably more “untouchable” than anyone else in the organization: Fernando Martinez. The Mets signed him in 2005 as an amateur free agent, and within two years he was ranked among the top 25 prospects in all of baseball by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. He was also the Mets’ top prospect in both 2007 and 2008. Martinez was a prized possession that many in the organization believed would be the best homegrown outfielder to suit up in Queens since Darryl Strawberry.

After making his major league debut on May 26, 2009, it became apparent that the 20-year-old might have already peaked. He made only 100 plate appearances in his rookie season, batting just .176, before suffering a torn meniscus that ended his season in July. More injuries limited his Mets playing time to just 18 games over the next two seasons, during which he hit an even .200. After the 2011 season, the Mets placed the once-untouchable Martinez on waivers, and he was claimed by the Astros shortly thereafter.

Martinez appeared in 52 games for the Astros as a bench bat in 2012 and 2013. He was then traded to the Yankees, and just when it looked like he might have a chance to revive his New York baseball career, he was suspended due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal. To date, Martinez has never appeared in another major league game.

It is always a shame when top prospects don’t pan out. Clearly, despite the glowing scouting reports and impressive numbers throughout the minor leagues, Martinez did not quite have all the tools to succeed at the major league level.

Michael Wacha would be a dark horse linchpin of the 2020 Mets rotation

I’m a little ashamed to admit that I was completely sucked in by Michael Wacha’s outstanding intrasquad start in the “summer camp” baseball restart of 2020. Perhaps I was just so starved for live baseball that any quality pitching performance at all would have completely wooed me. Either way, his solid outing against his own Mets teammates had me convinced that he was on his way to an excellent shortened season. I even chatted about this exact prediction with Mets beat writer Justin Toscano back in July of 2020.

Alas, this prediction did not come true. Wacha got injured almost immediately after the season began and made only seven starts in a Mets uniform. In those outings, he pitched to a 6.62 ERA and a 1.559 WHIP while averaging just 4.29 innings per start. The Mets’ starting pitching ERA in 2020 was an abysmal 5.37, and Wacha’s underachievement played a significant role in that disappointing outcome.

Wacha never quite found his footing in a Mets uniform and always seemed on the verge of disaster whenever he took the mound to start a game. He was a shell of the pitcher who broke out with an outstanding rookie season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and was the 2013 National League Championship Series MVP.

Wacha’s Mets career, for the moment, lasted only one season. He is looking to revitalize his career in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays, who have a history of signing under-the-radar pitchers and doing exactly that. I wish him well.

Jason Bay would live up to his MVP-caliber resume and be a star for the Mets

Among the many “free agent busts” throughout Mets history, their signing of Jason Bay on December 29, 2009, is at the top of the list. Bay was one of the top free agents on the market that offseason, having just completed an outstanding year with the Boston Red Sox that ticked off nearly every offensive box: 36 home runs, 119 RBI, a .267/.384/.537 slash line, an All-Star appearance, a Silver Slugger award, and seventh place in the AL MVP voting.

Another interesting factoid about the Bay signing: when he agreed to terms with the Mets, he became the first native Canadian to suit up for the Amazins since Brian Ostrosser and his five at-bats in 1973.

However, when Bay arrived in Queens, he seemed to wilt under the lights at Citi Field and struggled mightily. He suffered a concussion in 2010 that limited him to 95 games and just six home runs. The next two seasons were not much better, as he batted .245 and .165 in 2011 and 2012 respectively, never playing more than 123 games or hitting over 12 home runs in a season. Boos rained down upon him after every strikeout, and it was clear that Bay would not provide the heroics that Mets fans had anticipated.

The Mets ended up releasing him from his contract a year before it ended, providing an unceremonious end to one of the most disappointing signings in team history. Bay then signed a deal with the Seattle Mariners. He was released from that contract in August of 2013, thus ending his major league career in anticlimactic fashion.

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Though Mets fans have had many successful trades and signings throughout their team’s history, it’s human nature to dwell on “what could have been” and fixate on players that underwhelmed or were disappointments. Even if one of those “disappointments” allowed Jacob deGrom to emerge as the clear ace of the Mets’ starting rotation for years to come.