September 8: The Mets formally positioned McNeil on the injured listing this morning, and recalled outfielder DJ Stewart to switch McNeil on the large league roster. Stewart has slashed .175/.326/.299 in 190 journeys to the plate with the membership this yr.
September 7: Mets second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil needed to go away Friday’s recreation after being hit by a pitch on his proper wrist, and checks revealed a wrist fracture, as supervisor Carlos Mendoza instructed the New York Publish’s Joel Sherman and different reporters as we speak. McNeil can be sidelined for the subsequent 4-6 weeks, so he’ll miss the remainder of the common season and probably the playoffs except the Mets attain the postseason and make a deep run.
McNeil can be positioned on the 15-day injured listing sooner or later as we speak or tomorrow, although the official information of the damage got here shut sufficient to the Mets’ 3:10pm CT begin time as we speak that Mendoza mentioned the crew will play a person brief towards the Reds. Jose Iglesias figures to take over second base for the rest of the season, and Mendoza mentioned infield prospect Luisangel Acuna is without doubt one of the candidates to be referred to as as much as take McNeil’s spot on the lively roster.
New York is true within the thick of the wild card race, sitting in a tie with Atlanta for the third and remaining NL wild card slot but additionally inside three video games of San Diego for the primary wild place. Passing any of the Braves, Padres, or Diamondbacks can be rather a lot trickier for the Mets with no lineup common like McNeil, who has gotten the majority of time at second base this season whereas additionally enjoying at each nook outfield slots.
McNeil will end his 2024 season with a .238/.308/.384 slash line and 12 house runs over 472 plate appearances, translating to a 98 wRC+ that matches his seesaw of a yr. Hitting simply .214/.271/.308 over his first 300 PA, McNeil’s bat lastly caught fireplace in July, and he proceeded to hit .294/.368/.566 in his subsequent 163 PA earlier than cooling off once more in September. McNeil has remained one among baseball’s hardest hitters to strike out, although not a lot his contact has resulted in hard-hit balls, and a .256 BABIP additionally hasn’t helped his trigger.
It’s doable McNeil’s numbers may very well be associated to the partial UCL tear in his left elbow that was revealed close to the tip of final season, although McNeil solely obtained a PRP shot reasonably than surgical procedure and was in a position to be a part of the Mets’ Opening Day lineup. Or, it may very well be {that a} historically soft-contact hitter like McNeil is reliant on batted-ball luck to be particularly productive on the plate, and it isn’t any shock that his finest seasons have concerned BABIPs all north of the .330 mark. When McNeil isn’t discovering holes within the area, he has been nearer to a league-average bat, as evidenced the 99 wRC+ he has posted for the reason that begin of the 2023 season.
This downturn adopted the signing of McNeil’s four-year, $50MM contract extension, so the Mets haven’t gotten what they had been anticipating following McNeil’s All-Star season in 2022. Nonetheless, as a left-handed hitter who can play a number of positions, McNeil has nonetheless been a helpful participant to have as an everyday a part of the lineup, and his absence forces New York to fill a few holes. Iglesias has been wonderful in part-time obligation this season and now faces an additional problem in an on a regular basis function, whereas Tyrone Taylor and Jesse Winker determine to get extra outfield time.
