Mets second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil needed to depart Friday’s sport after being hit by a pitch on his proper wrist, and exams revealed a wrist fracture, as supervisor Carlos Mendoza informed the New York Put up’s Joel Sherman and different reporters Saturday. McNeil will likely be sidelined for the following 4 to 6 weeks, so he’ll miss the remainder of the common season and probably the playoffs until the Mets attain the postseason and make a deep run.
McNeil will likely be positioned on the 15-day injured record in some unspecified time in the future over the weekend, however the official information of the harm got here shut sufficient to the Mets’ 4:10 p.m. ET begin time that Mendoza mentioned the group will play a person quick in opposition to the Reds on Saturday. Jose Iglesias figures to take over second base for the rest of the season, and Mendoza mentioned infield prospect Luisangel Acuna is among the candidates to be known as as much as take McNeil’s spot on the lively roster.
New York is correct within the thick of the wild-card race, sitting in a tie with Atlanta for the third and closing NL wild-card slot but in addition inside three video games of San Diego for the primary wild-card place. Passing any of the Braves, Padres or Diamondbacks will likely be lots trickier for the Mets with out a lineup common like McNeil, who has gotten the majority of time at second base this season whereas additionally taking part in 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 12 months. 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 certainly one of baseball’s hardest hitters to strike out, however not a lot of his contact has resulted in hard-hit balls, and a .256 BABIP additionally hasn’t helped his trigger.
It’s potential McNeil’s numbers may very well be associated to the partial UCL tear in his left elbow that was revealed close to the top of final season, however McNeil solely acquired a PRP shot fairly 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 greatest seasons have concerned BABIPs all north of the .330 mark. When McNeil isn’t discovering holes within the discipline, he has been nearer to a league-average bat, as evidenced by the 99 wRC+ he has posted because the begin of the 2023 season.
This downturn adopted the signing of McNeil’s four-year, $50M contract extension, so the Mets haven’t gotten what they have been anticipating following McNeil’s All-Star season in 2022. Nonetheless, as a left-handed hitting 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 responsibility 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.
