Jeff McNeil's hot bat makes him indispensable as Mets approach trade deadline

New York Times

10 hours ago

NEW YORK — With a serious tone during a recent interview, Jeff McNeil cleared up something in case his penchant for spiking helmets and the perpetual scowl he wears left anything up to interpretation.
'I'm pretty hard on myself,' he said.
You don't say.
McNeil, who still tends to react with shock when he makes an out at 33 years old, doesn't need extra motivation. Nonetheless, the New York Mets are in a position to supply some.
Advertisement
The Mets' roster contains three other players, all much younger than McNeil, capable of playing second base, his primary position (plus more alternatives in their farm system). Each time the Mets have called on an infield prospect, fans on social media have demanded playing time for the flashy newcomer, often at the expense of McNeil, no longer new or flashy. But a funny thing keeps happening. McNeil continues to outperform them.
'He is in a place where he can take things personally in a good way,' said Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who had a memorable exchange with McNeil in 2021. 'And that's really good.'
With a fresh offensive identity based on hitting balls hard that started in the second half of last season, McNeil has increased his value to the Mets in a few meaningful ways, particularly as it pertains to the trade deadline.
It's not just at second base, because he owns an .889 OPS (.268 batting average) and the trio of youngsters who can man the position — Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio — have yet to supplant him, though that helps significantly.
It's also in the lineup, where McNeil's hot left-handed bat has come in handy batting behind right-handed slugger Pete Alonso.
And it's in center field, where, paired with righty Tyrone Taylor, McNeil has helped solidify a platoon that rival evaluators say is surpassing their expectations.
The Mets view the production (offensively and defensively) from Taylor and McNeil as sufficient. However, it is an area the club will continue to monitor leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, people familiar with the situation said.
McNeil, homegrown and in his eighth major-league season, always wanted to play center field. Until this season, he never got the chance to do so in a meaningful way aside from three appearances in 2023. Sunday marked his 13th game this season at center field, one of the more premier defensive positions. McNeil said he has learned there is more ground to cover, more decisions to make, more involvement on every play. Multiple scouts called his defense in center field passable.
Advertisement
Wherever he plays, McNeil needs to keep hitting to remain valuable. By replicating his success, he is making a convincing case that the changes he made in the second half of last season are real. The turning point this season came in early May, when he decided to revisit what had worked the previous year. It helped him turn things around once again.
While sitting on the bench in Arizona during the first week of May, McNeil wasn't feeling great about his swing. He watched videos from late last summer. In the series in Arizona, he went 1-for-9 with three strikeouts and no walks. He asked co-hitting coach Jeremy Barnes to help get him back on that track. Around that time, the coaching staff had been talking to McNeil about his mechanics. Together, they made a mechanical change with McNeil's swing, essentially stopping him from moving too far forward. The fix enabled McNeil to access more pull-side power.
'He's always done well going the other way, but especially after the shift went away, we don't want him sliding and trying to carve it the other way,' Barnes said. 'When he is at his best, he is able to hit pull-side line drives.'
Since the Arizona series, McNeil is 24-for-84 (.286 batting average) with a .979 OPS and six home runs.
In an about-face from last year, no one seems to be pining for the Mets to deal McNeil, who is under contract through next year with a club option for 2027 ($15.75 million both years). He started the season on the injured list (oblique), leaving a lane open for Acuña and Baty. Strictly from a speculative standpoint, if the Mets' younger players consistently hit at the start of the season and McNeil struggled upon returning, he would've made for a logical trade candidate. That is not exactly what happened. Perhaps if Mark Vientos (hamstring; starting a rehab assignment early next week) returns and Mauricio and Baty hit well in the meantime (both are receiving more action in the infield than Acuña), the conversation may again change.
Advertisement
'I always know that there is that possibility of going somewhere else, and I know some teams do value what I do, being able to play multiple positions and all that stuff,' McNeil said. 'But at the same time, I know how much the Mets value me.'
In an alternate universe, McNeil is expendable.
In reality, McNeil looks indispensable.
'He is only adding value to himself and to the team as well,' Lindor said. 'We all know the high-caliber player that he is. Jeff McNeil is Jeff McNeil — it is not some random player. He is very valuable to us.'