Mets' Jeff McNeil: Tweaks oblique, set to miss opener
Rotowire
Manager Carlos Mendoza announced Thursday that McNeil is recovering from a low-grade right oblique strain and will be out for 3-to-4 weeks, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
After missing time late last season with a wrist injury, McNeil reported to camp at full health and was poised to begin the 2025 season as the Mets' everyday second baseman until he presumably suffered the oblique strain earlier this week. Mendoza said that McNeil will be shut down from baseball activities for the next 7-to-10 days, and the 32-year-old will then need about two or three weeks to complete a hitting progression before being ready to make his season debut. With McNeil potentially headed for a stint on the 15-day injured list, Luisangel Acuna could be in line to open the season as the Mets' primary option at the keystone.
McNeil is starting at second base and batting eighth Friday in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
It's the first start this postseason for McNeil, who was added to the Mets' NLCS roster after recovering from a fractured right wrist. He is hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances to this point in the series. Jose Iglesias -- who is 5-for-14 with a 2:1 K:BB in the series -- will begin Friday's contest on the bench.
McNeil will not be in the lineup Wednesday for Game 3 of the NLCS versus the Dodgers, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports.
McNeil was added to the Mets' NLCS roster after recovering from a fractured right wrist but has been limited to just one pinch-hitting appearance so far, and it appears Jose Iglesias will get another start at second base in Game 3. Iglesias is slashing just .222/.263/.222 so far during the postseason.
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Mets' Jeff McNeil: Out of lineup again in Game 2
Rotowire
McNeil is not in the lineup Monday for Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
McNeil was added to the Mets' NLCS roster after missing five-plus weeks with a fractured right wrist, but Jose Iglesias will make a second straight start at second base and Starling Marte will be in the lineup again in right field Monday. After lining out as a pinch hitter in Game 1, McNeil will be a candidate to come off the bench again in Game 2.
McNeil (wrist) is part of New York's roster for the National League Championship Series versus the Dodgers.
McNeil ended the campaign on the 10-day injured list due to a wrist injury, but he logged at-bats in the Arizona Fall League on Friday and Saturday in preparation for returning for the series versus Los Angeles. His inclusion on the Mets' roster means New York will carry one more hitter than they did in the NLDS against Philadelphia, as reliever Adam Ottavino was left off the roster to make room for McNeil. It's likely that McNeil will work as a lefty bat off the bench during the NLCS.
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