New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil will miss Opening Day after suffering a low-grade right oblique strain, manager Carlos Mendoza disclosed on Thursday.
He will be shut down from any baseball activities for seven to 10 days and could miss up to three or four weeks.
“He felt it after the last game he played a couple of days ago,” Mendoza said (h/t SNY). “He came in, he was sore, we gave him 24 hours. Yesterday morning, it was the same thing, and we decided to take an image, and it showed the strain…
“This could be tricky. We just have to let it heal.”
This is just the latest obstacle in a difficult three-year span for McNeil, who won the batting title in 2022 with a .326 average.
His batting average dropped 56 points to .270 in 2023, and last season was his worst yet as a pro. In 129 games, he slashed .238/.308/.384 with a .692 OPS — a year that was interrupted by a fractured wrist.
Despite his struggles in recent seasons, he was still projected to be the Mets’ Opening Day second baseman.
It creates a late, open competition for a second spot, which could very well come down to Luisangel Acuna or Brett Baty after the two had been a part of a battle for the final utility-infield role on the big-league roster after Nick Madrigal went down with a fractured shoulder.
Acuna impressed the organization last season in his September stint while filling in for the injured Francisco Lindor. He batted .308 with three home runs across 39 at-bats while playing shortstop and second base.
Baty is putting together another strong spring training, but questions remain about whether it can translate into the regular season at the big-league level. The former top third-base prospect owns a .215 career average in 544 MLB at-bats.
It allowed Mark Vientos to snag the starting third-base job and run away with it after his coming-out season of 27 home runs last year, while Baty was demoted to Triple-A.
He began playing second base in Syracuse and has received reps at the position this spring, including a start on Thursday.
According to Mendoza, Donovan Walton and Luis De Los Santos are also in the conversation for the spot.
For more on Jeff McNeil and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
