Having Lagares in the starting lineup more regularly — he appeared in 94 games last season — would seem one way to reach that goal. The next spring, the Mets rewarded him with a four-year contract extension worth $23 million that runs through the 2019 season. From about that moment on, Lagares has found it hard to avoid injuries or to hit with much impact. Yes, Lagares hit ball to the left side nearly 44 percent of the time when he put the ball in play, according to FanGraphs.com. Then, last month, Lagares flew to Southern California to spend a week hitting with Wallenbrock and Van Scoyoc.

Source: New York Times December 16, 2017 00:56 UTC