How McNeil is preparing for season
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Jeff McNeil did not knock a hit during his first at-bat in the Grapefruit League this season, but he was back tormenting opposing pitching.
The Mets second baseman, who was the team’s last starting position player to debut after experiencing left biceps discomfort earlier this month, swung at the first pitch he saw from Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn. Then, after falling behind 0-2, he fouled off five pitches to help work the count full and ultimately drew a walk.
“It was kind of like a normal at-bat right there sometimes,” McNeil said. “I was thinking I might not get a second at-bat if I took too many swings right there (or) get my three ABs worth of swings, but it felt good.”
As McNeil tries to ramp up quickly to prepare for Opening Day on March 28, he drew the start at second base, received three at-bats and finished 0-for-2 with a walk in the cleanup spot immediately behind Pete Alonso on Tuesday night against the Cardinals.
McNeil nearly belted a grand slam in the bottom of the second inning but his towering fly ball with the bases loaded was knocked down by the wind and dropped on the warning track in right field.
“I hit it really well and I would say on a normal day, it probably is (a home run),” McNeil said, “but I’ve hit too many balls into the wind here where it just gets eaten up.”
Jeff McNeil getting ready quickly
McNeil has been limited since experiencing discomfort in his left biceps on a swing during a workout in early March. That forced McNeil to be shut down from hitting drills for about five days while he continued to take fielding practice.
McNeil was initially contained to pitching tracking, dry swings and hitting off a tee. Then, batting practice and the pitch machine were worked in. He saw his first live action at the plate in a minor-league game on Sunday.
He will get the day off on Wednesday against the Marlins before returning to action against the Tigers in Lakeland on Thursday.
With nine days left until Opening Day, McNeil said he will be able to get as many at-bats as he needs to be game-ready, particularly with the presence of minorleague games where he can enter the batter’s box as needed.
“Sometimes the fewer at-bats could be beneficial, as well,” McNeil said. “You don’t get those bad thoughts, bad habits. You kind of let your natural ability take over and roll into the season. I’ve always succeeded well early in live batting practice and stuff like that. We’ll see what happens.”
McNeil added that the careful approach to his workload has helped him feel strong before and after hitting so far.
“Maybe with some injuries, but playing in the backfield game the other day, I felt good,” McNeil said. “I haven’t been sore at all after, so that kind of lets us know we’re doing something right.”
After winning the National League batting title in 2022 — joining Jose Reyes as the second Mets player to achieve the feat — McNeil slashed .270/.333/.378 with 10 home runs, 55 RBI, 75 runs and 25 doubles in 2023.
The Mets second baseman suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow after his arm collided with Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlor on a slide into second base on Sept. 11, 2023. After playing with the injury for a little more than two weeks, an MRI revealed the injury and McNeil was shut down for the final series of the 2023 season.
Entering spring training, McNeil said that he had no symptoms of the elbow injury after receiving receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection at the end of last season and taking two months off. The biceps discomfort was unrelated.
Where might McNeil fit in the lineup
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said not to read too much into McNeil being nestled into the cleanup spot in his debut.
McNeil was plenty fine providing protection behind Alonso in his first action but simply wants to be penciled into the lineup every day.
“The one thing about McNeil is that he provides versatility,” Mendoza said. “I’ve been saying that all along, not only defensively because he plays second, left or right, but you can hit him anywhere in the lineup. This is a guy that can second, leadoff, third, fourth, seventh. He provides that versatility that I think is important when you are trying to construct a lineup.”
Earlier this week, Mendoza said that he would prefer to not bat fellow left-handed hitters Brandon Nimmo and McNeil back-to-back in the lineup.
Last season, McNeil saw his most time — 65 games — in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, while spending 32 games fifth 32 in the order and batting sixth 29 times. He hit in every spot in the lineup except eighth and ninth. In addition to 94 starts at second base, McNeil spent 31 games in right field, 24 games in left and two games in center.
With the presence of Tyrone Taylor and DJ Stewart on the bench, McNeil figures to play almost exclusively second base this upcoming season.
As for the spot behind Alonso in the lineup this season, Mendoza added: “We can talk about protecting Pete and who hits behind him, but the way I see it, it’s who hits in front of him too. That’s a way to protect him is if you put guys that are going to be on base, you’re going to put it on the other team whether they want to pitch to him or not.”