The Mets have had a busy offseason by any standard — let alone by their own low post-Madoff bar. The 2018-19 offseason has seen the Mets bring several new pieces into the fold — including infielders Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie — who will arrive into an already-crowded infield with several players fighting for playing time.
With the season about two months away, it looks like most of the infield is set: Robinson Cano will be the starting second baseman, Amed Rosario the starting shortstop, and Todd Frazier will be the starting third baseman. Peter Alonso will be the starting first baseman if all goes well this Spring. And if it doesn’t, Lowrie would be the logical choice to fill in at first. But if all goes well with Alonso, Lowrie could serve in a super-utility man role that will give him get near-everyday playing time.
Aren’t we forgetting about someone?
Oh, yeah: Jeff McNeil. What about him?
Despite his status a breakout star and one of the Mets’ few recent development success stories, it looks as though McNeil will be the odd infielder out. In fact, he may even end up the odd man out of the starting lineup altogether: The Mets reportedly plan on relegating him to the outfield, without a starting lineup guarantee. McNeil has only made nine appearances in the outfield over the course of six minor-league seasons. He has never appeared in an MLB game as an outfielder.
That seems like one heck of a way to reward a guy who batted .329/.381/.471 last season in his first crack at the major leagues.
On one level, putting McNeil in this kind of role — when coupled with the new additions — makes sense. Although McNeil is entering his first full season, he will turn 27 in April making him not the typical young player entering his first full season at the major league level. Besides, the Mets need outfield help with Yoenis Cespedes on the sidelines, and having McNeil’s bat could provide that.
But such a plan that includes no guarantee of regular playing time and playing out-of-position on defense is incredibly risky. It could easily stunt McNeil’s growth and sounds eerily reminiscent of the ill-fated attempt to move a young shortstop named Jose Reyes to second base to make room for blockbuster offseason acquisition Kazuo Matsui. And that didn’t end well for anyone.
The additions of Cano and Lowrie undoubtedly make the Mets a better team, provided they play at a level similar to what they’ve played at in recent years. But these additions cannot come at McNeil’s expense. McNeil showed real promise last season, and the Mets should be doing everything they can to capitalize on that promise. Such a plan for McNeil would include giving him a presumptive everyday spot and not playing him radically out of position.
Rather than trying to turn McNeil into a jack-of-all-trades on defense and a diminished asset on offense, it makes far more sense to make McNeil the presumptive starting third baseman and move Todd Frazier to a utility role until Peter Alonso is called up. McNeil has played 151 minor league games at third base, so playing here would require much less of an adjustment process than playing the outfield would. And McNeil is also far more important to the Mets’ long-term plans than Frazier, who will be a free agent after this season.
Had he had enough at-bats to be eligible, McNeil would have finished tied for tenth in all of baseball in OPS+. His promise is real. And relegating McNeil to anything but a presumptive full-time role — or playing him out of position– would be a great waste of this promise.
