Juan Lagares Announces Retirement
Former Mets center fielder Juan Lagares announced his retirement from baseball on Thursday. Lagares played in 10 seasons in the major leagues, eight of which came with the Mets. While his MLB playing days ended in 2022, he played in the Dominican Winter League in each of the last four years.
Lagares signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2006. While he was originally a shortstop, Lagares transitioned to being an outfielder in 2009. After spending seven seasons in the minor leagues, Lagares made his major league debut in April of 2013. While his bat produced just a 75 wRC+, Lagares flourished as the Mets’ everyday center fielder thanks to his glove, posting a sparkling 25 DRS in 108 games. Lagares followed up his rookie campaign with the best season of his career in 2014, improving his slash line to .281/.321/.382 (101 wRC+) in 452 plate appearances and recording his second straight season with 25 DRS. Lagares’ 5.2 bWAR and 2.9 fWAR were the best marks of his career. He earned a Gold Glove award at the season’s end, and he remains the last Mets player to earn that honor. The Mets rewarded Lagares with a four-year extension worth $23 million.
Unfortunately, Lagares was never able to match his production from 2014 in the ensuing years, battling injuries and mostly being relegated to a backup role after the team acquired Yoenis Céspedes in 2015. He had one more great defensive season in 2017 – posting 17 DRS in 85 games, but his year was truncated by a thumb injury. He had a few more notable moments at the plate – on May 22, 2019, he delivered a two-out, bases-clearing double against Sean Doolittle to give the Mets an eighth-inning lead against the Nationals. Later in the year, on September 12, Lagares crushed two homers, including a grand slam, driving in a career-high six runs to lead the Mets to a dominant 12-1 victory over the Diamondbacks to cap a four-game sweep.
The Mets declined Lagares’ option for the 2020 season, and he signed a minor league deal with the Padres, though he would end up re-signing with the Mets that July. He appeared in two games as a defensive replacement before being designated for assignment in August, ending his Mets career for good. Lagares signed with the Angels ahead of the 2021 season and spent parts of two seasons in Anaheim before heading to Korea for a 49-game stint with the KBO’s SSG Landers.
Lagares finished his Mets tenure with 7.6 fWAR and 12.3 bWAR over his eight seasons in Flushing. While he was never considered a superstar, he exceeded the expectations he had as a prospect, and fans fondly remember watching him patrol center field in orange and blue.
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