Rojas knew Lowrie

Years later, we’re finally getting some answers on the mysterious left knee injury that infiltrated Jed Lowrie’s short-lived Mets career. Lowrie first felt his left knee discomfort in spring training 2019, about a month after he signed a twoyear, $20 million contract with the Mets that former GM Brodie Van Wagenen designed.

Last week, Lowrie told The Athletic that an examination and a second opinion confirmed he actually had a knee fat pad impingement which was very painful. The Mets, on the other hand, phrased Lowrie’s injury as a left knee capsule sprain, then a left hamstring strain, followed by a more general left side issue, and finally an official diagnosis of PCL laxity in his left knee. And that was all within the 19-month timeframe of Feb. 2019 to Sept. 2020.

“I’ve had some injuries, but this last situation with the Mets was really frustrating,” Lowrie told The Athletic.

Lowrie told The Athletic that the Mets declined to allow him to get knee surgery and threatened him with a grievance. He said he was free to get the operation after the 2020 season. He underwent the surgery in October, when Steve Cohen was finalizing his purchase of the Mets from former owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon.

Mets manager Luis Rojas said

BY DEESHA THOSAR

he knew Lowrie wanted the knee procedure. It’s unclear when Lowrie wanted the surgery, whether it was before the 2019 season when he first felt the discomfort there, or if it was last year.

“I had a few conversations with Jed,” Rojas said on Wednesday. “I was aware that he wanted to have surgery, but there’s some conversations I wasn’t really a part of.”

Lowrie, who is turning 37 on Saturday, didn’t make his Mets debut until Sept. 7, 2019. He made eight plate appearances, then showed up to spring training in 2020 wearing an enormous brace that stretched from his left ankle to mid-thigh. Lowrie didn’t appear in any games in the 60-game season.

He since signed on for his third-career stint with the Athletics and has been off to a fantastic start in Oakland. Lowrie is batting .333 with a .964 OPS, two home runs and 11 RBI in 12 games since his knee surgery.

Rojas said his conversations with Lowrie mostly revolved around the brace he wore in 2020. Former Mets skipper Mickey Callaway, who is currently suspended by the Angels after being accused of sexual misconduct toward women, managed Lowrie in 2019. Rojas took over as manager in 2020.

“What I can share with you is that he was frustrated because he wanted to get in there, he wanted to play, he wanted to be a part of the team,” Rojas said. “He thought we had a really good team. I always welcomed him to give me advice from his view, he’s