PORT ST. LUCIE — The Squirrel is ready to fly once again.
After a down season in 2023, an elbow injury and a late start to spring training, Jeff McNeil is finally set to play Grapefruit League games this week. McNeil was in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Clover Park hitting fourth and playing second base.
He went 0-for-2 and played five innings of defense pain-free. He nearly hit a grand slam off Joseph King but his deep fly was caught at the wall to end the bottom of the second.
The Mets say there is enough time to get him ready for Opening Day next week.
“You’ve just got to get him a bat,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “The bat-to-ball skills, the batting average — he’s a hitter. But as we speak today, it’s more like trying to get him as many at-bats as possible.”
McNeil came into camp healthy after rehabbing the partial tear of his left ulnar collateral ligament all winter. But he experienced some biceps soreness in the same arm when hitting in the batting cages a few weeks ago. It was not his biceps tendon, which could have signaled further injury with his elbow or even his shoulder, so the Mets only needed to rest him.
The soreness was limited to the muscle in his left arm and it subsided enough that he was able to play minor league games over the weekend. He won’t finish spring training with the same amount of at-bats he typically would, but the Mets are unconcerned.
“I just wanted to make sure I was ready for Opening Day,” McNeil said. “It didn’t really matter how long it took, I just wanted to make sure. March 28 is the big one, so make sure I’m in for that. Still a week here to get ready, get prepared.”
McNeil, 31, can get plenty of at-bats in minor league games on the backfields, but facing big league pitching before the regular season begins is important for his progression.
“Make sure I do get those at-bats and [I’m] seeing the big league pitchers, as well,” McNeil said. “It’s different going to the other side, a different environment, so getting into the big league games will be key.”
McNeil will play again Thursday in Lakeland when the Mets face the Detroit Tigers in one of their final spring training games of the year. The Mets plan to move him around the lineup this week just as they will this season.
“The one thing about McNeil is that he provides versatility,” Mendoza said. “I’ve been saying that all along. Not only defensively, because he plays second, left and right. You could hit him in the lineup anywhere. This is a guy that can hit second, leadoff, third, fourth, seventh. It provides that versatility that I think’s important when you are trying to construct a lineup.
“It’s important and it’s nice to have it at the same time.”
McNeil is happy to hit anywhere the team needs him to.
“Wherever they put me, I’m happy for it,” he said.
CAMP CUTS
The Mets sent another group of players to minor league camp. Right-handers Kyle Crick, Cole Sulser and Yacksel Ríos, infielder Yolmer Sanchez and outfielders Ben Gamel and Trayce Thompson were reassigned Tuesday afternoon.
Crick is still out with a calf strain and will continue rehabbing in Port St. Lucie until the team breaks camp.
