The A’s are going to add Jed Lowrie to the Opening Day roster, manager Bob Melvin announced to reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Oakland still needs to formally select Lowrie’s contract but has a vacant 40-man roster spot to do so.
Interestingly, the A’s plan to deploy Lowrie as the primary second baseman, Melvin said. Lowrie obviously had quite a bit of success in that role in 2018, when he hit .267/.353/.448 and earned an All-Star selection. However, the 36-year-old (37 in April) hasn’t played a single inning on defense since then on account of knee injuries.
Lowrie’s 2019-20 stint with the Mets was a disaster, as those health woes limited him to just eight total plate appearances (none last season). He returned to the A’s on a minor-league deal over the offseason. Lowrie does have a long track record of being a productive regular, which can’t be said of either Tony Kemp or Chad Pinder. The A’s will certainly keep tabs on his workload, but Lowrie looks to once again be Oakland’s go-to option at the keystone.
Of course he’s healthy once he leaves NY.
*sigh* I have no ill will toward him, though. Moves like that one are what got BVW canned once Steve Cohen took over the team.
Lowrie just giving the Mets the big ole’ middle finger huh.
He won’t last 20 games, I wouldn’t worry too much. Kendrys Morales 2.0.
I’d happily take that bet.
They said that the last two times he came to Oakland.
Jed Lowrie. Take $20 million from the Mets over two years to rehab your knees and then go back to the A’s. American Dream.
As a Braves fan I got to say I like Jed.
I don’t have anything against Lowrie for what happened, I hope he’s able to stay healthy and keep his career going.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lol, thats a throwback name right there.
Are you the same “KirkforMVP” that used to be on MetsBlog circa 2015?
@chri
Nope! I was never really an active commenter on MetsBlog (R.I.P.).
I will be sending them the royalty checks from now on though.
Chad pinder is sneaky good and clutch. This article makes it sounds like he’s crap lol
This is weird, but I remember some Rangers/A’s games a few years ago where Cole Hamels was pitching, and every game he pitched versus the A’s, Chad Pinder was in the lineup. Pinder KILLED Hamels’ pitching almost to the point where it was funny. I’m going to go look for his slash line versus Hamels just to see if that holds true.
It holds true… It holds REALLY true.
Pinder is 8 for 10 off of Hamels in his career with a slash line of .800/.857/2.000/2.857. Holy crap.
He does well vs lefties and is versatile defensively. Although ironically he’s a better corner outfielder than shortstop. Even though he cam up as a shortstop and 3rd baseman in college and minors. Was even AA Texas league mvp as a shortstop. He fills his role well but largely struggles vs righties although hasn’t been really given everyday extended at bats. Now going back to a old lowrie, pinder role will still be limited unless injuries happen
Seems like every year the A’s bring in a new player to block Chad Pinder from getting an opportunity to play every day. Smh. Why do we want a 36-year old with bad knees playing anywhere on the field for us? We have Moreland to DH so Lowrie can only get At Bats at 2nd Base. I don’t get the Favoritism.
I like Lowrie as a bench bat with Pinder the everyday 2B who can slide to the OF if there’s an injury. But naming Lowrie the everyday 2B over the superior player in Pinder, who’s raked this spring, shows a total lack of common sense from the front office.
Chad is our super utility player, not our every day second baseman. Tony Kemp is not nearly good enough to be our every day second baseman. Jed was our best hitter in 2017 and 2018. There is no favoritism here. Moreland will DH against right handed pitching, Jed will DH against left-handed pitching, and he will get a lot of reps at second base. If his knees hold out, he will be more than adequate in the field. Fantastic, low risk, low-cost move. Jed is the epitome of a ball player. I think that Jed and our new bullpen make us real contenders.
Pinder has literally never had a proper chance to play everyday though, and totally deserves it. We can’t make this choice that he’s a bench player when he never gets regular reps. He won MVPs in the minors as an everyday SS.
Kemp is terrible at baseball and a waste of a roster space. A’s need power bats on the bench, not grown men with the bodies of 12 year old boys who have not one outstanding skillset.
Lowrie is Morales 2.0. He won’t last.
Exactly. Defensively, Pinder can play 2B/SS/3B but he’s actually better as an OF opinion. Pinder will get plenty of ABs this year.
No idea why Pinder can’t get a shot to play everyday right from the jump, but the A’s love giving washed up veterans a shot over young players who earned it (going with Kendrys Morales over Canha and Pinder at 1B was particularly pointless and disgusting to sit through).
You’d think “moneyball” would be all about playing the young kids over expensive vets who don’t produce.
We need Pinder as super-utility. If Jed doesn’t produce, they won’t keep him around. Comparing him to Kedrys Morales is a joke!
Disagree, Pinder is better than Lowrie in 2021. You are stuck in the past, its not 2014 anymore. Pinder deserves to be everyday at least for a year to see what happens. I bet its better than Lowrie in 2021.
I love Chad, and my guess is that he will be in the lineup almost every day, just moving around the field, getting others a day off. He’s great in that role! I think they will both play a lot and will both be huge assets to the team. We shall see! Let’s hope you are wrong about Jed!
Frankly, I think our only worry is shortstop…
Good for him that he is healthy after his 2 year paid sabbatical with the Mets.
Watch him make the All Star team after fleecing the Mets for two years
A bit odd that he was only able to play 9 games for the Mets across two years due to what sounded like a chronic knee injury, but then entering his age-37 season, he’s healthy?
Makes me wonder if the Mets actively kept him on the shelf for insurance purposes.
I mean it’s completely plausible that he simply wasn’t able to play through his injury; just something that crossed my mind.
He had elective surgery on his knee.
I was at his game in Mesa on Thursday (I live just down the street) and he looked really good. He absolutely tore the cover off the ball and played well in the field. As a Mets fan I can only shake my head sadly and think “what if?” He’s a good player that was unfortunately not able to be healthy for us. I wish him well with the A’s.
What a ridiculously sane and reasoned reply. Are you sure that you’re a Met’s fan? I’m not sure if you know how to internet 🙂
As soon as he leaves the Mets, he magically becomes healthy. It seems like the A’s are signing or trading for him every other day.
I think it kind of worked out for the Mets. Him not there gave the at bats needed to guys like JD Davis and Dom Smith.
Still, it’s as if the Mets banked on Jed Lowrie for basically the same money that DJ Lemahieu received. That hurts.
I hope Jed nothing but the best. He was a gamer and it was tough to see him not be able to play.