The New York Mets feel great about their infield at the major league level, and perhaps that enabled them to let some younger players walk this winter.
William Lugo was a 2019 international signing for the Mets who played 504 games in the organization, reaching Double-A for his age-23 campaign this past season. He struggled with the bat, however, and this winter, when he was eligible to elect free agency, a change of scenery seemed in order.
Lugo found that change of scenery late last week. According to the transactions log on his official roster page, he signed a minor-league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates last Saturday, a deal that was not reflected on the log until nearly a week later.
Lugo, whose primary position is shortstop, has played some third base and first base as well in the Mets organization. He stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds, suggesting that he has more of a corner infielder’s build, but if that’s what you’re going to be in the majors, you’d better hit a ton in the minors.
Unfortunately for Lugo, the results haven’t been there on offense, particularly in Double-A this past season. He owns a .671 OPS in his six minor-league seasons combined, a mark that was dragged down by his .575 mark in 113 games for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies last year.
The Pirates, much more so than the Mets, are in need of some homegrown position players to rise through the system and become contributors over the next couple of seasons. Lugo may not have the inside track to doing so, but his odds will be a lot better in Pittsburgh than they likely ever would be in New York.
That said, the Mets gave Lugo a $475,000 signing bonus as a teenager, so they likely weren’t thrilled to see him go even if they made little effort to bring him back as a free agent.
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