Jed Lowrie is finally joining Mets after ugly injury saga

Jed Lowrie’s highly anticipated debut in a Mets uniform was finally here.

For the Mets’ 141st game of the season, Lowrie was activated Saturday afternoon and he struck out in his lone plate appearance in the Mets’ 5-0 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field. The day felt like it would never come, as Lowrie battled a relentless string of injuries that led to setback after setback each time he felt close to healthy.

“Jed is available,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said of Lowrie who struck out as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the fourth with two runners on. “We’re going to see — he’s going to probably need to continue to progress. So today, he’s available off the bench to pinch hit and then we’ll see where he is tomorrow. He’s put together some really solid at-bats it sounds like on his rehab and we’re confident he’s going to come up there and give us a good at-bat.”

Callaway said that “anything is possible” with how he plans to use Lowrie going forward, noting that they’ll have to take things day by day and evaluate how everybody on the roster is playing before inserting him into the lineup.

“There might be an opportunity when we face a left-handed pitcher,” Callaway added. “He’s the only guy that plays second base that would be up there hitting right-handed. Maybe he can start in that scenario if everything is going good.”

Since signing to the team run by his former agent Brodie Van Wagenen in January, Lowrie suffered from several injuries starting as early as spring training, when he first felt a pain in his left knee. He opened the year on the injured list before enduring injuries to his left hamstring and then his right calf, which prolonged Lowrie’s arrival.

Lowrie, a 35-year-old switch hitter who is coming off an All-Star season with the A’s, played in 12 minor league rehab games before he was activated on Saturday. He batted a solid .275, going 11-for-40 with two home runs as he worked his way to make his first appearance in a Mets uniform.

“I’m not going to waste my time thinking about the past,” Lowrie said. “I’m going to focus on today and what I can do in the future to help.”

Lowrie neglected to say he felt 100 percent, but says he’s progressing and hopes to gain enough confidence in his health to be able to help the Mets — who were still tied four games back of the second NL wild-card spot — in their pursuit for the postseason. It’s been a frustrating journey for him, but going forward he plans to prioritize his health.

“I would say both [getting back to how I was playing before and preventing these injuries from happening again],” Lowrie said of his plan going forward. “I think preventing injury and getting to a point where you’re able to play and take the pounding that you put on your body when you play every day at the major-league level.”

It was the first time Lowrie dealt with such a slew of injuries in his career. He added he didn’t expect his recovery to be as long as it has been, but with the continuous setbacks there was nothing he could do.

It’s no secret to anyone or even Lowrie himself that he isn’t the young player he once was, but he still feels capable of making an impact with his new team.

“That’s the whole point, that’s why I’m here.”