Former All-Star Jeff McNeil wasn't in the starting lineup for the Mets on Wednesday night, and for Thursday's home opener, the 29-year-old is batting seventh behind Jonathan Villar.
McNeil's deployment to start the season has raised questions among Mets fans given his offensive value, a down year in the shortened 2020 season notwithstanding. In his first year with the Mets in 2018, McNeil slashed .329/.381/.471 in 63 games and didn't slow down in 2019, posting a .916 OPS with 23 home runs over 133 contests in what was an All-Star season. But on Wednesday, it was Villar at secod and Luis Guillorme at third, with McNeil on the bench even with J.D. Davis out with a bruised hand.
"Getting Villar in there and getting Guillorme a start, and nothing more than that," manager Luis Rojas said about the decision to keep McNeil on the bench. "We're trying to get everyone a chance to play…just trying to get everyone in there…we spent a few days without playing against another team, and the more chances we can get guys in there this early, the better. We want to keep everyone ready and everyone fresh."
McNeil wound up pinch hitting for an at-bat on Wednesday, while Villar went 3-for-5 in the sixth spot. He remained there for Thursday's home opener, while McNeil, one of the team's best hitters in their last full season, was batting seventh, though Rojas said it was just part of a plan to split up the lefties in the lineup, with Villar, a switch hitter, placed in between the lefties McNeil and Dominic Smith, who is batting fifth on Thursday.
"It is splitting the lefties," Rojas said. "Today is to split it. They have a couple of lefties out of the pen. You guys are going to see a lot of lineups nowadays where they don't have three in a row because of the three-man rule, whether it's three righties and three lefties."
Mets fans may want to see McNeil higher in the order and getting more at-bats, and certainly not on the bench for the first week of the season, but Rojas may deploy McNeil in the bottom third of the order moving forward to stick with the team's current strategy.
"We're splitting it, and nothing more," Rojas said. "The sequence of lefties can definitely be a strategy for opposing managers."
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