Mickey Callaway spoke with the press today and reiterated what everyone has been hearing since the team signed Jed Lowrie in January: Jeff McNeil will be getting a lot of playing time in the outfield.
In fact, Callaway went as far as to say that most of the left-handed hitter’s at-bats will be gained from playing there instead of his previous primary position of second base or any other spot in the infield.
McNeil, 26, was phenomenal in his first season with the Mets in 2018 as he hit .329/.381/.471 with three home runs, six triples, and 19 RBI to give himself a 140 OPS+.
However, the acquisitions of Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie have put the Mets in a position where there simply aren’t enough at-bats to go around in the infield for McNeil.
Therefore, McNeil will be spending a large majority of his time playing either a corner outfield spot or centerfield in 2019, most likely next to Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo with Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton both on the bench to back the trio up.
The team is hoping Yoenis Cespedes, who underwent double heel surgery in 2018, will join the team at some point this season which would relegate McNeil to a super-utility role as the team is currently constructed.
