Another familiar face is leaving Queens. Former National League batting champion Jeff McNeil, along with cash, was reportedly traded from the Mets to the Athletics on December 22. It ends McNeil’s tenure with the MLB team that drafted him over a decade ago.
A Look at McNeil
The 2022 campaign was a banner year for Jeff McNeil, who won the National League batting title after he batted .326 for the Mets. McNeil was a pivotal piece for the 2022 Mets, as he consistently hit his way on base, which helped him amass the fourth-best on-base percentage (.382) in the Senior Circuit.
Since then, McNeil has been unable to replicate those results.
Once a near-lock to bat over .300, McNeil has yet to bat .280 since the 2023 campaign. The now-33-year-old batted .270 over 156 games with the Mets, then .238 and .243 in the following campaigns.
It’s been a strange couple of years for McNeil, once a poster boy for how to beat the shift. The 33-year-old had a knack for finding holes in the infield, whether it be up the middle or on the third base line, during his early years as a Major Leaguer. However, once the shift rules changed in 2023, McNeil changed how he played.
For one, his mean bat speed jumped +1.9 MPH between 2024 and 2025. Two, McNeil went from one of the best in terms of shooting the ball up the middle to one of the most extreme pull hitters in all of baseball.
Just this past season, McNeil had a 48.6% Pull% rate. That ranked among the top 15 of the league in 2025, alongside names like Matt Wallner, Spencer Torkelson, and new Met Jorge Polanco.
McNeil isn’t a pure hitter by any means. He’s adept at making consistent contact still, which is why he remained one of the best in terms of avoiding strikeouts and swings and misses.
Defensively, McNeil played mostly second base throughout his tenure as a Met. However, he also has extensive experience playing left and right as a utilityman. Additionally, McNeil played 34 games in center field this season. The Mets tried to fill the void without Jose Siri with McNeil, who played center on days when a heavy ground-ball pitcher was on the mound.
Per ESPN, the Mets will also send money to pay off a portion of McNeil’s salary. The Mets will also pay off McNeil’s $2MM buyout of the $15.75MM team option the Athletics now have as part of this deal.
The Mets received 17-year-old pitching prospect Yordan Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who signed with the A’s for a $400,000 bonus this past January, struck out 20 over 15.1 IP for the DSL Athletics. He walked eight batters.
Analysis
In a sense, this is a near-perfect landing spot for McNeil.
The Athletics are a team on the rise and in need of a second baseman. Heading into the offseason, the A’s didn’t have many options at second, with Max Muncy and utilityman Darell Hernaiz being two of them.
While McNeil isn’t as high of an OBP threat compared to what he was several years ago, this is a low-risk buy for an Athletics team that will get money for taking on his contract.
As for the Mets, their roster reconfiguration continues.
This move isn’t entirely unexpected. McNeil was one of several middle infielders — aside from newcomer Marcus Semien — on the Mets’ 40-man roster, which currently includes Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio. The Mets will also have to contend with possibly promoting Jett Williams in 2026, although that’s another story for another day.
Additionally, it ends another talking point layer in New York. Last month, the New York Post reported that both McNeil and Francisco Lindor had another fight in 2025, four years after their infamous one in Lindor’s first season with the team.
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