Mets: Best options to replace Robinson Cano at second base

Jeff McNeil

When he was originally called up to the big leagues in 2018, Jeff McNeil primarily played at Second Base for New York. A former All-Star and arguably the team’s best hitter, McNeil would be a great option to fill Cano’s spot.

Once Cano was traded for the following offseason, McNeil was relocated to the corner outfield positions, as well as spending time at third base for the club.

For his rookie season, McNeil appeared in 54 games at second base for New York, scoring a .991 fielding percentage while committing only 2 errors. Overall for his 3 year career, McNeil as appeared in a grand total of 103 games at second base, his fielding percentage has been .989.

Needless to say, McNeil is a very solid glove at the position, and along with his consistent bat at the top of the order, he could be one of the top second basemen in the league.

As stated, McNeil has primarily been penciled into the Mets lineup as the starting left fielder in recent years, so his position change would open up a spot there.

This could easily be filled by slotting in Dominic Smith into the position, or moving Brandon Nimmo to left field and signing a better defensive center fielder to fill out the line up, such as Starling Marte, George Springer, or Joc Pederson.

Regardless of how the outfield shapes out, Jeff McNeil is an inhouse option who could easily man second base for New York in 2021, as he has done so efficiently in the past.