From Yo to youth
With Ces back on DL, Mets get glimpse into future in McNeil’s MLB debut
On Day Five of the Yoenis Cespedes Heel saga, the Mets ... continued waiting. After Mickey Callaway promised a decision “probably sooner than an hour,” and that assistant GM John Ricco would speak on whether the Mets slugger would be having season-ending surgery, which would push into 2019, or try to continue pain management, there was no decision.
The Mets announced after their 6-3 win over the Padres that there would be no announcement Tuesday night. This began Friday night, remember, with Cespedes defiantly, and clearly without the Mets’ knowledge, announcing that all his leg issues stem from calcification in his heels, which will only be completely fixed by surgery.
Three days later, on Monday, the Mets sent Cespedes to their team doctors to have an MRI on the heels and to see a foot specialist. Tuesday, the results of the MRI were sent to “one of the best (specialists) in the country,” and the Mets were still waiting on the results of a second opinion.
“Right now, they are just trying to get the specialists’ opinion and everything,” Callaway said before the game. He was the only Mets official to speak publicly Tuesday. “Obviously Yo is here, sure they will convene with him and let you guys know what the corresponding moves are going to be, what Yo’s future is going to be.”
Well, maybe Wednesday the Mets will get their act together and have a decision made.
A source close to the team said they were anticipating bad news. He said Cespedes was leaning toward surgery before the game.
In the meantime, at least the Mets did put Cespedes on the 10-day disabled list and played with a full roster — something they have not been too good at.
Tuesday night, the Mets activated hot-hitting — and much-anticipated — prospect Jeff McNeil. The 26-year-old singled off Padres reliever Phil Hughes on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues, contributing to the Mets’ 6-3 win at Citi Field.
As he was announced and walked to the plate to pinch hit, there was an actual buzz in the sparsely populated Citi Field. In an already lost season, the best entertainment that the Mets fans who do still show up can hope for is watching some young players and dreaming about a winning team in the future.
You can expect to see a lot more young players when the Mets can move some of their veterans.
McNeil has been tantalizing fans with his minor league numbers.
McNeil isn’t exactly “young,” and he wasn’t considered a “prospect” until this season.
The 12th round pick in 2012 has battled through a litany of injuries to get to the big leagues.
“He’s a good all around player, athletic, with a positive baseball IQ & motor,” one scout said of McNeil. “Technically, he is a sound defender. He has a good eye in the box, recognized all pitches, has a natural lift in his swing. He shortens up with two strikes, can push a bunt to beat the shift.
“Honestly, he could be of use in a Mets uniform,” the scout added two weeks ago. So, now, we get to see. The infielder was batting .368 with a .427 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage at Triple-A when he got the call at 7:45 p.m. Monday night. He had a dramatic spike in his power this season, hitting 19 homers between Double-A and Triple-A.
“I’m definitely a little bit bigger, I’m starting to drive the ball a little bit more,” McNeil said. It is also just a byproduct of finally being healthy. Since 2016, McNeil has been through two sports hernias, a torn hip labrum and a torn quad muscle.
“So definitely a tough two years, but it’s all paid off now,” McNeil said.
With Cabrera, whose contract is up after this season, likely headed to whatever contender needs a switch-hitting bat off the bench, the Mets will have a chance to see if McNeil can be a part of that future. And maybe sometime in that future — maybe even Wednesday on the sixth day of the Cespedes Heel saga — we will actually find out what the Mets’ $110 million slugger’s future will be as well.