3 NY Mets players who should have a reduced role in 2025 if they're not traded first

The New York Mets have a lot of work to do this offseason. The team has grand plans to make big splashes and upgrade a roster that came up just short in its World Series bid last season.

As their chief rival has only gotten better the heat has turned up on the Mets to pursue upgrades in all areas of the roster. To a certain extent, Steve Cohen's deep pockets mean upgrades are inevitable. For these three incumbents that means taking a back seat in 2025 if not departing from Queens altogether.

Jeff McNeil is a prime Mets trade candidate despite his versatility

At one point in time, Jeff McNeil's contract looked like one of baseball's best values. Coming off of a batting title in 2022 while playing solid defense at second base and displaying versatility to fill in around the diamond, the Mets' brass looked like geniuses for locking up one of the game's premier contact hitters to a below-market value deal.

However, since the ink dried on the contract McNeil has undergone a steady descent into mediocrity. After posting a wRC+ of 140 in 2022, he has become essentially a league-average hitter with his performance plummeting in that metric to an even 100 in 2023 and 97 in 2024.

Still, as a league-average hitter with an above-average glove at second base he holds some value. Throw in his positional versatility and you can talk yourself into him still being a useful player, even if he is declining and on the wrong side of 30.

The problem for McNeil is two-fold. First, is the squeeze he's feeling from some of the Mets' top prospects. Luisangel Acuna impressed in a late-season cup of coffee and all signs indicate to him being the Mets' opening-day starter at second base. Furthermore, many of the Mets' top prospects, from Acuna to Jett Williams and Ronny Mauricio, project as players with middle infield and outfield versatility.

Secondly, the Mets' pursuit of Soto would eliminate a lot of opportunities for McNeil in the outfield. That would make his most likely path to regular at-bats coming from the DH position which isn't ideal for a player who derives most of his value from his glove. Moreover, the Mets would probably prefer to keep the DH spot somewhat open in order to cycle through their top hitters providing them with some extra rest throughout the season.

McNeil is facing the proposition of playing a utility role off the bench or playing elsewhere in 2025. The most likely scenario might be a trade. With his defense, versatility, and an offensive game that you might be able to hype up based on his second-half OPS of .923, he could fetch a return that in combination with moving his salary off the books, provides the Mets greater value once the dust settles on the 2025 roster.