5 once popular NY Mets players most fans wouldn’t mind trading away

3) Jeff McNeil

Some people just don’t like Jeff McNeil because of the way he presents himself. Hotheaded during his calm moments, his temper is off-putting. Crab legs are treated more nicely at a buffet than the way he does his bat and helmet when something doesn’t go his way.

As a player, McNeil proved himself to be incredibly useful yet again this season. What would the Mets have done in center field if not for him? His 28 starts at the position helped give them a more capable starting lineup at a time when he was hitting well. It’s a shame he had to end his regular season in such a rotten slump.

McNeil finished the year hitting .243/.335/.411. He was absent during the biggest parts of the season with a defensive guffaw in center field against the Philadelphia Phillies costing them a game. With several chances to change how fans felt on Sunday, McNeil went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.

It seems like every offseason includes the idea of trading McNeil. After his extension he signed following a batting title in 2022, McNeil has been less his usual self. Once capable of hitting .300 with no problem, we’re now requesting a .250 batting average from him to reach the bare minimum.

If there’s a trade to shake up the lineup this offseason, it would probably have McNeil and his almost $16 million with a team option going elsewhere. Nothing seems certain, but with so many other veterans locked up to contracts the way they are and young players coming up at the positions McNeil plays, this feels like a stronger possibility. For those who’ve turned on McNeil, save the champagne bottle for the MLB Winter Meetings.