NEW YORK — In the thick of a playoff push, the New York Mets’ run of good health regarding their position players ended Saturday.
Second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil will be out the remainder of the regular season because of a wrist fracture, manager Carlos Mendoza said. In the fifth inning of the Mets’ win against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, a 74-mph curveball struck him directly on his wrist guard. Initially, McNeil stayed in the game before getting lifted for a pinch-hitter one inning later.
Mendoza and McNeil both provided a timetable of four to six weeks.
Less than four weeks are remaining in the regular season. The Mets, winners of eight straight and tied with the Atlanta Braves for the final wild-card spot, hope to make the playoffs. If they do, McNeil said that there’s a chance he can rejoin them at some point. McNeil, 32, will receive a second opinion. He called it a “really small fracture,” and was surprised by the extent of the injury.
“I would say if you see me on the field again, that’s a really good thing,” McNeil said. “That means we’re deep in the playoffs. So, I want to say I can come back and help contribute, but who knows; we’ve got to see how it heals (over) the next few weeks. It might be a pain management kind of thing. So we will see.”
To get the postseason, however, the Mets will have to do things without McNeil, one of their best hitters in the season’s second half. After a terrible start to the season (.584 OPS through June), McNeil turned things around in July (.923 OPS in the second half). McNeil finishes the year with a .238 batting average, 12 home runs and a .692 OPS. He was a key part of their lineup’s depth and ability to use different alignments because of his versatility and his competent left-handed bat.
“It’s a huge blow,” Mendoza said. “He’s been one of the reasons why we’ve gotten in this position. But everybody deals with injuries and guys will continue to step up.”
Without McNeil, Jose Iglesias, 34, is expected to see most of the time at second base. Iglesias, who bats from the right side, has drawn starts at second base since joining the Mets from Triple A in May. Iglesias, a terrific defender, is hitting .312 with a .797 OPS. The Mets also have utility player Pablo Reyes.
“Iglesias is going to get the reps there,” Mendoza said. “But we also have to monitor his workload and make sure he is getting his proper rest. The same way we’ve been using him; he plays a couple days, two or three days and then he gets a couple days off. He’s been pretty successful like that. I will continue to have those conversations with him after every game and see how he’s doing and make sure we are not pushing him too hard.”
To replace McNeil on the roster, the Mets could look to Luisangel Acuña to help up the middle. Acuña, who has great speed, has had an up-and-down season in Triple A, with a .666 OPS for the season and .566 OPS over his last 28 games.
But Mendoza also mentioned the team may want to bring up another left-handed batter (Acuña bats from the right side). So, someone like outfielder DJ Stewart would be a likely option.
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(Photo: Orlando Ramirez / Imagn Images)
