Juan Lagares expects to feel a tinge of sadness as he departs Citi Field on Sunday for possibly the last time in his Mets career.
The Mets’ longest-tenured player, Lagares is playing out the five-year, $23.03 million contract he signed before the 2015 season, and there is a good chance the team won’t re-sign him.
“This is the only organization I have played for, since 2006, so I feel blessed to play for that long and it’s probably going to be sad,” Lagares said referring to Sunday’s season finale. “I hope I can stay here, but nobody knows.”
Lagares, 30, debuted with the Mets in 2013 and immediately became a sensation for his defense. He won a Gold Glove the following season and remained a regular player in 2015, but a string of injuries ensued, derailing a once-promising career.
Lagares’ injuries have included a torn left thumb ligament and broken toe. Both required surgery, as did a fracture in the IP joint of his thumb.
“Damn, man, I was hurt a lot,” said Lagares, who had extended stretches on the injured list from 2016-18. “But the way I play you never know what’s going to happen. It’s something that you don’t know. Things just happened. I always wanted to play hard. Every time I got the opportunity, I just want to give my best to help the team.”
He has appeared in 132 games this season, mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement, and entered play with five homers, 27 RBIs and a slash line of .212/.276/.325.
Lagares, who went 1-for-3 in the Mets’ 4-2 win over the Braves, managed to avoid the injured list this season, but got buried on the bench early. He emerged to receive playing time in the summer months after Brandon Nimmo and Dominic Smith were removed from the outfield mix with injuries.
Nimmo’s return from the IL earlier this month curtailed Lagares’ playing time, but manager Mickey Callaway has started him against lefties.
“He’s been a total pro,” Callaway said. “He’s been here a long time and whether he was playing or not he was out here supporting his teammates and working hard to continue to improve.”
“We used him in late situations for defense, he never complained, he could have easily done that, so he has been a total professional and I’m glad he is here on our team.”
Lagares considers 2014 and ’15 as the highlights of his Mets tenure. In 2015, the Mets went to the World Series.
“That was the greatest moment probably of my career to be part of this and that was amazing,” Lagares said.
A year earlier, he won a Gold Glove in center field.
“Probably the only year I had an opportunity to play the whole year and thank God I did my job,” Lagares said.
But Lagares’ offense never caught up to his defense, and he often struggled with plate discipline. The Mets bought out Lagares’ arbitration years, but never received the sizzle for their buck they could have envisioned.
“There is a reason they locked him up to that deal, because you knew he was going to be an elite defender every year,” Callaway said. “And then the injuries just took a toll on his development at the plate and just hindered him.”
Lagares senses he could be departing just as the Mets are on the rise.
“Everybody knows what kind of team we have right now,” he said. “A lot of young players, like Pete [Alonso], [Jeff] McNeil, [Amed] Rosario and those guys, you know. They have something special here.”