As the New York Mets continue to hunt down a playoff spot in the National League, they are going to have to do it without Jeff McNeil.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Saturday that the 32-year-old second baseman is “likely done for the year” after an MRI revealed he has a fractured wrist.
McNeil exited Friday’s win over the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning after being hit by a 74 m.p.h. curveball from Brandon Williamson.
A two-time All-Star, McNeil is slashing .238/.308/.384 with 12 home runs over 129 games for the Mets this season, but has been a key piece of New York’s offence since the All-Star Break.
In 40 second-half games, the seven-year MLB veteran has hit seven homers with a .923 OPS.
“If you see me on the field again, that’s a really good thing. That means we’re deep in the playoffs,” McNeil told reporters Saturday about a potential return. “I wanna say I can come back and help contribute, but who knows? We gotta kinda see how it heals in the next few weeks. I think it might be a pain management kind of thing, so we’ll see.”
The Mets have won eight straight games, pulling them into a tie for the final NL wild-card spot with the Atlanta Braves.
