Lagares, Mets part ways as club declines option

NEW YORK -- Juan Lagares' 13-year run with the Mets' organization officially came to an end on Friday, when the team declined his $9.5-million contract option for 2020. Lagares is now a free agent.

The Mets also attempted to outright veteran second baseman Joe Panik and Donnie Hart to Triple-A Syracuse. Those two rejected the assignments, making them free agents as well. None of the moves came as surprises for the Mets, who shed six other players from their roster this week at the official start of free agency: starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, relievers Luis Avilán and Brad Brach, third baseman Todd Frazier, outfielder Rajai Davis and catcher René Rivera.

Lagares, 30, signed with the Mets as a 17-year-old shortstop in 2006, before converting to the outfield later in his Minor League career. When he debuted in 2013 as a standout defender with some offensive potential, the Mets considered him a key to their future. When he won a Gold Glove the next season while also batting .281 with a .703 OPS, they responded by awarding him with a five-year, $23.5 million contract.

That deal included a $9.5 million option for 2020, which the Mets declined on Friday. They instead paid Lagares a $500,000 buyout.

“I thank God for the opportunity to be here from 2006 to now,” Lagares said in September. “It’s sad. I understand that this is a business. I have to accept everything that happened and enjoy the time with my family, and be ready for anything.”

In addition to the Gold Glove and his .348 average in the 2015 postseason, Lagares’ Mets tenure was defined by injuries. Quad, hamstring, elbow, toe and thumb woes limited Lagares to an average of 68 games per season from 2016-18. He rebounded this year to appear in 133 games, mostly as a defensive replacement and pinch-hitter. But he hit just .213 with a .605 OPS.

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Although the Mets may seek a center fielder on the open market this winter, Lagares is unlikely to return on a Major League deal.

“I’m proud of it,” Lagares said of his tenure. “I really appreciate the opportunity, first of all, to sign me, and to keep me here for this long. I don’t know what’s going to happen next year, but I feel ready.”

Panik gone, could return?
Declaring free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Syracuse was mostly a formality for Panik, as the Mets would have non-tendered him anyway next month. This gives Panik some additional time to test the open market.

After moving from the Giants to the Mets in August, Panik hit .277/.333/.404 with two home runs in 39 games. The Hopewell Junction, N.Y., native expressed a desire to return to the Mets in 2020 if possible, though with Robinson Canó healthy, he’d have to accept a lesser role.

“Right now, we don’t know where baseball’s going to take us,” Panik said in September. “We love New York, love the food, love the people. This is where we live. … I just wanted to make the most of my opportunity here.”

As for Wheeler…
Although Wheeler is already a free agent, the Mets will almost certainly extend him a qualifying offer worth $17.8 million in the coming days. Wheeler is a strong bet to reject a one-year deal with an eye toward testing the open market.