In the hopeful New York City borough of Queens, Mets fans burning World Series aspirations have been encouragingly renewed with the signing of Juan Soto. But in the wake of such a signing, the payroll is quickly becoming a problem.
This issue is evinced by the Mets’ budget signings of Clay Holmes (as a starter) and Frankie Montas adding question marks to their pitching staff as they would be replacing Luis Severino and Jose Quintana, each of whom anchored their rotation last season. Now it appears they have pulled back from re-signing their star slugger Pete Alonso as both remain far apart in contract discussions.
On the Bronx side of the city, theNew York Yankees still haven’t found a suitable response to the Soto signing. Their open spot in the infield remains a problem they seem to be compromising with. But perhaps, both New York teams could help each other out.
Next season, the Mets’ infield will be overflowing with possibility. Luisangel Acuna, Mark Vientos, Francisco Lindor, Ronny Mauricio (returning from injury), and Brett Baty are all options with the chance that Pete Alonso still returns. However, this list leaves out one former batting champion.
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Jeff McNeil is a match for the Yankees
Jeff McNeil is coming off a down year posting a .238/.308/.384/.692 slash line with 12 home runs in 424 at-bats. At a glance, this doesn’t appear to be the same Jeff McNeil that won a batting title in 2022 with a .326 average. But while his first half was abysmal, he began to heat up hitting .289 in the second half before a wrist fracture ended his season. McNeil is no stranger to injuries as most of his career was riddled with them. He returned for the NLCS in which he performed rather poorly. So, why would he be ideal for the Yankees?
To start, McNeil is a slap hitter who pulls the ball. He isn’t known as a home run hitter, but in the Bronx, this changes drastically. Baseball Savant estimates, when including park and environmental factors, McNeil would have hit 19 home runs in Yankee Stadium compared to the 12 he hit in 2024. This is more than estimated in any baseball field. If McNeil can stay healthy, he may top 25 home runs a season with the Yankees (McNeil hit 23 in 2019). But it gets much better.
At his home park in Queens, McNeil hit a lackluster .199 with two home runs. When on the road, McNeil hit .279 with 10 home runs. A change of scenery would surely do him plenty of good. And if he can recover his old numbers when he hit for averages above .300, he would be a definite game-changer for the Bombers.
McNeil turns 33 this coming season and is owed $15.75 million for each of the next two years. Included in his contract is a club option for 2027 at the same price. For the Mets, trading McNeil would bring a satisfactory return and give them a little breathing room they might want to put to work in bringing Alonso back.
