Jeff McNeil made his best and worst argument to stay on the NY Mets roster

It was a frustrating year for Jeff McNeil. Then again, he comes across as the type of person who’d get angry about finding 11 McNuggets in a pack of 10. As the pressure rose late in the year, the longtime New York Mets everyday utility man let his emotions get the best of him. Haters have long been turned off by his hot-headedness. Ignoring those tendencies that cause us to break up with a person we’re in a relationship with, McNeil had baseball reasons for why you’d want him nowhere near the Mets roster next year either.

However, McNeil did offer the Mets a lot of what he has throughout his tenure that made him such an important player. The best and worst argument for keeping him on the Mets roster in 2026 was made.

Best argument: His versatility is unmatched

What would the Mets have done in center field if not for McNeil? Tyrone Taylor couldn’t handle the load. A defensive wizard, McNeil supplemented the Mets with enough offense on a regular basis as their starting center fielder on days when Taylor needed time off or some added offensive punch was a must.

69 of his starts came at second base with another 28 in center field. He combined to have another 7 at the two corner outfield spots as well. His versatility has been his career calling card. Although measuring below average as a center fielder, made up for it with his bat for a large portion of the year. It was only in the final month when both parts of his game went on a steep decline.

The Mets will find it impossible to find another player with McNeil’s versatility and upside with the bat.

Worst argument: He doesn’t offer enough on offense

Let’s talk about that offense. The year ended better than 2024 with a difference of only 10 fewer plate appearances. He matched in home runs with 12. His .746 OPS was significantly better than the .692 from the previous year. In fact, it was an improvement on his 2023 total as well when it rested at .711.

It’s still far from what he had done in the past. McNeil was a batting champion in 2022 and a contender for one in all but one season prior. We could count on him for making contact (which he still does a lot of by the way) and putting up a .300+ batting average.

The problem with McNeil’s offense is it’s kind of light. A bit more noticeable because he does tend to bat maybe a little higher than he deserves, the lack of pop in his bat has him feeling replaceable. Brett Baty had an OPS only 2 points higher and yet it seems like his bat had so much more oomph. His collapse down the stretch didn't help either. Hitting .187 in September put an end to way too many rallies.

It’s a matter of preference with McNeil. Ideally a bottom of the order hitter at this point, he too closely mimicked the averageness of the Mets offense at times with no signs of doing anything more. The team batted .249/.326/.427 vs. McNeil’s .243/.335/.411. Useful even in his downgraded mode, the issue is there doesn’t seem to be any signs of doing much more. He’s fine batting near the bottom of the lineup on a stacked team. But on a club like the Mets, he felt too much like the reason why they couldn’t come through.