San Francisco Giants
Among the writers at Rising Apple, Steve Parello predicted the Mets would trade Jeff McNeil to the San Francisco Giants. "My thought was that San Francisco needs help at second. Their second basemen combined for a .617 OPS last season. The free-agent market at second is basically Gleyber Torres and nothing else and they're already paying big money to Adames, Chapman, Devers, etc. So a trade is their best option. Brandon Lowe from the Rays would cost more in terms of prospects and their farm system has just started to rebound after being terrible for a while. So McNeil feels like their best option to get a relatively cheap rental to improve second while not killing the progress their system has made."
As Steve notes, the Giants may look for a short-term option, such as McNeil or Lowe. Two of the Giants' top five prospects per MLB Pipeline are middle infielders: Gain Klein and Jhonny Level. They were also the Giants' last two first-round picks. Acquiring McNeil also lets the Giants use Casey Schmitt and Tyler Fitzgerald as more utility men than give them regular roles.
McNeil will also likely make less than Torres and cost less than Brandon Lowe in terms of prospects. McNeil is guaranteed at least $17.75 million, given his $15.75 million 2026 salary, and a $2 million buyout for 2027. However, he also has a team option for $15.75 million, so that's another positive that he has over Lowe, as he's a free agent after the end of 2026. If the Giants want to keep McNeil around for another season until prospects are ready, they have that option as well.
McNeil also provides the Giants with another outfield option. Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, and former Mets prospect Drew Gilbert are their current outfield options. The likes of Justin Dean, Jerar Encarnacion, and Grant McCray make up the rest of their outfield depth chart. McNeil provides some veteran stability behind Gilbert, gives them a better option than McCray, Encarnacion, and Dean as a back-up outfield option, and help keep the seat warm for outfield prospects like Bo Davidson and Dakota Jordan.
