It’s been a tough few years for Jeff McNeil. While the versatile utility man may not look like the same hitter he was in 2022, that’s not a bad thing. The 2025 version of McNeil walks more, strikes out less and hits for more power.
Once again, he’s become an indispensable part of the Mets‘ lineup.
“He’s not going to give up,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday at Citi Field.
In 2022, McNeil was one of the best hitters in baseball, winning the NL batting title, beating out Freddie Freeman with enough hits that the Mets were able to rest him for the last game of the season. The versatile utility man was rewarded with a four-year, $50 million contract. It looked like a team-friendly deal in January 2023, but then the season started and it looked a bit of an albatross.
McNeil didn’t respond well to being pitched differently, and his frustration was obvious on the field. He’s been about feeling as though he had to get a hit every time he was at the plate. The pressure continued to build as the Mets’ season spiraled out of control in 2023. McNeil had a strong second half in 2023, hitting .291, but another slow start in 2024 left him searching for answers and the Mets searching for trade partners.
“He lost playing time last year,” Mendoza said. “He went through a stretch, I want to say, towards the end of May, early June — around this time — where he lost playing time and he had a fight, and he did. So you’ve got to give him credit. He was challenged, and he responded to it.”
It was his ability to play multiple positions that always kept him in the mix during those down seasons, especially when right fielder Starling Marte was injured in back-to-back seasons. Maybe that’s the key to unlocking the best version of McNeil. With center fielder Jose Siri injured, McNeil was finally given time in center field, a position he played at Long Beach State and one he’s been wanting to play with the Mets since the minor leagues, and he’s excelled.
“It’s actually something I’ve been wanting to do since I got drafted,” McNeil said. “I played a lot of outfield in college. I knew I could be a plus-center-fielder, especially early in my minor league days when I was a little faster and a little thinner. I love playing outfield. It’s a lot of fun and you get to make cool catches.”
Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves, he made an extremely cool one, scaling the wall and reaching to grab a deep fly ball from Marcell Ozuna that would have gone for extra bases, possibly even a home run, in the first inning of the Mets’ 7-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. Right-hander Clay Holmes, the starting pitcher, credited that catch with setting the tone for the entire game.
“Itt’s first time I think I’ve ever robbed a home run in stride,” he said.
Using his leg to brace himself on the center field wall was a move he had long been wanting to pull off.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been thinking about that probably for seven years,” he said. “Just playing outfield, I know how that wall angles. And I know if you can get back there, you can put your foot in the wall and you can actually get up a little higher. I didn’t really get up much higher — I didn’t have to, I don’t think — but if the ball was a couple more feet over, I could try to get up as much as I can.”
McNeil also had two hits in the win. He’s hit safely in 19 of his last 24 games and has slugged five home runs in the month of June. His bat speed has increased significantly this season, and .237 BaBIP would indicate that there is still more offense to come.
The Mets can’t take his bat out of the lineup now, and since he can play all three outfield spots, they don’t have to.
The lineup has been more of a puzzle than usual this season with the Mets trying to work in a group of young infielders. Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and more recently, Ronny Mauricio all needed reps at second base.
“It allows me to continue to be flexible and give guys off days, not only when I’m making out the lineup, but in-game decisions,” Mendoza said. “It’s crazy that yesterday he makes an unbelievable play, and then I’m taking him out because I’m putting in Tyrone Taylor, but I think we brought him to second base. He’s starting in left today. That’s a pretty good player to have on your roster.”
There hasn’t been a single level of baseball where McNeil has failed to hit. If the worst is behind him, it’s because of how hard he fought to hit again.
“After facing so much adversity and struggles in 2023, and the first half last year, losing playing time, he kept fighting,” Mendoza said. “Now, here he is back to being a pretty important piece for us.”
