Mets' Jeff McNeil out four-to-six weeks with fractured right wrist
Jeff McNeil's season is likely over, as the Mets' second baseman/outfielder will be out at least 4-6 weeks with a fractured right wrist.
McNeil was hit by a pitch, a 74-MPH curveball, in Friday's win over Cincinnati, and he told the media Saturday morning it 'didn't hurt that bad at all' – but imaging revealed the fracture that will keep him out the rest of the regular season and more, pending a Mets playoff run.
The timeline means the Mets would likely have to make at least the NLCS for him to play again, but he said Saturday that 'if you see me on the field again, that's a really good thing.'
McNeil finishes the campaign with a disappointing .238/.308/.384 slash line, 12 home runs, and 44 RBI in 129 games – a stunning line just two years after he won the NL batting crown – but he was hitting .289 with a .923 OPS since the All-Star Break, with a .316 BABip and half of his homer and RBI totals.
The 32-year-old is now halfway through a four-year, $50 million deal he signed amidst that batting title, and in his absence, Jose Iglesias, who has almost evenly split second base with McNeil in the second half, is likely to take over the bulk of the time there.
The Mets will make a roster move ahead of Sunday's finale with the Reds – and with Brett Baty, who was getting reps at second before breaking a finger late last month at Triple-A, on the IL, the team could look to call up Luisangel Acuna, who is hitting .263 with 38 steals at Syracuse.
