New York Mets utility player Jeff McNeil will be in the lineup for his rehab starts in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions on Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, before joining the National League Championship Series roster.
https://x.com/MLBazFallLeague/status/1844143894474403854
The Scottsdale Scorpions will play the Glendale Desert Dogs on the road on October 11 at 9:30 p.m. EDT and home on October 12 at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
All 2024 AFL regular season games are streamed for free on MLB.TV until the final out of their championship game on November 16.
The 32-year-old left-handed hitter fractured his right wrist on September 8 and was placed on the 10-day injured list before being reactivated on September 30.
McNeil played in 129 games and batted .238 with 472 plate appearances and smacked 101 hits, 26 doubles, 12 home runs, 44 RBI, five stolen bases, 35 walks, 68 strikeouts, and a .692 OPS before he was sidelined.
He played 28 games and 22 starts in right field and left field through 183 innings and had 38 chances, 35 putouts, one assist, two errors, and a .947 fielding percentage.
McNeil played in 110 games with 95 starts at second base through 871.1 innings and had 419 chances, 181 putouts, 231 assists, seven errors, turned 66 double plays, and a .983 fielding percentage.
First-year Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will have to evaluate where McNeil could fit in the lineup with left fielder Brandon Nimmo and right fielder Starling Marte patrolling the corner outfield positions.
Other suggestions could be made by the Mets front office, such as dropping second baseman Luis Angel Acuna and going with 13 pitchers and 12 position players for the NLCS roster.
McNeil and second baseman Jose Iglesias can share time between second base during the NLCS.
Iglesias has six hits in his 29 at-bats in the postseason, along with one walk before Game One of the NLCS.
During the regular season, Iglesias slashed .402/.455/.544 against left-handed pitchers, and against right-handed pitchers, he hit .303/.342/.399.
The Mets will have to wait for the end of Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Friday, October 11, to see if they play the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Diego Padres in the NLCS.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will have rookie Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobou Yamamoto face San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish on October 11 at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1 in a win-or-take-all Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Jeff McNeill during warmups before Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 6, 2024. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)
