You can’t blame A’s manager Bob Melvin for going through a bit of a nostalgia trip as he wrote in Jed Lowrie’s name on the lineup card prior to Tuesday’s Cactus League game against the Cubs at Sloan Park.

The last time Lowrie donned the green and gold, the A’s were playing in the 2018 American League Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium, and the second baseman was near the top of the lineup, batting third. Making his Cactus League debut on Monday, Lowrie was in the second spot.

“It was exciting. I haven’t been that excited on a baseball field in a while,” Lowrie said. “I’m just happy I didn’t pass out, quite frankly.”

Lowrie is not just back for a quick trip down memory lane, though. Joining the club last month on a Minor League deal, the 36-year-old is looking to earn his way into a third stint with Oakland. It would make for quite the satisfying trilogy with the organization in which he’s experienced the most success over his 12-year Major League career.

“You look at his body of work with us, and not only was it productive, but it was durable,” Melvin said. “I know after two years of basically not doing a whole lot, he’s extremely inspired and motivated to get back on the field and show what he can do. We look forward to that as well.”

Lowrie evolved into a hitting machine during his previous run with the A’s, setting a single-season Oakland record with 49 doubles in 2017. He followed that with the first All-Star selection of his career at age 34 in an '18 campaign that saw him garner a few votes in AL MVP balloting after he slashed .267/.353/.448 with 23 home runs, 37 doubles and 99 RBIs.

Expecting Lowrie to reach those All-Star heights again is a tough ask, especially given his inactivity over the past two years as knee troubles limited him to just nine games and eight plate appearances in two seasons with the Mets.

Shaking some rust off on Tuesday in his first game back from offseason left knee surgery as he played two innings on defense and went 0-for-2 at the plate, Lowrie acknowledged it’s going to take a few games to find a good rhythm. But after facing A’s pitchers in live situations at the A’s training facility over the past week, Lowrie said he is already starting to feel comfortable in the box.

“The swings felt good,” Lowrie said. “I thought I saw the ball well, took pitches I should have taken and swung at the ones I should have. The body feels good. We’ll see how everything responds tomorrow.”

The A’s plan to limit Lowrie’s workload upon returning to games. Melvin said the second baseman could play on an every-other-day basis and could also get some time as the designated hitter to build up his at-bats.

Lowrie has some competition at second base in utility player Tony Kemp, who is off to a hot start this spring as he took advantage of the extra playing time early in the Cactus League schedule. Lowrie does not have a secured spot on the roster, but if the veteran can stay healthy and on the field this spring, Lowrie’s presence in the lineup could solidify that two-spot as the table-setter to A’s sluggers Matt Olson and Matt Chapman.

“If we get a healthy Jed, that really deepens our lineup to where I’ve got to figure out somebody that’s going to hit ninth, and that won’t be an easy call,” Melvin said. “Fully healthy, we’ll have some guys down in the lineup that aren’t used to hitting there.”