Mets trade Jeff McNeil, cash for minor league pitcher: source

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Dec 22, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — David Stearns has effectively taken a wrecking ball to the New York Mets core.

The team traded former NL batting champ Jeff McNeil to the Athletics on Monday, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News. It appears to be a bigger move for the A’s than the Mets. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets are receiving only 17-year-old A-ball pitcher Yordan Rodriguez, a right-hander out of Cuba who pitched eight games in the Dominican Summer League last year, while the Mets are sending cash back to Sacramento.

The 33-year-old McNeil is owed $15.75 million 2026, the final year of his contract, and has a club option for 2027. The Mets will send $5.75 million to cover part of his salary next season, and will pay the $2 million buyout fee if the A’s decline to pick up his option.

The homegrown offensive core of Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and McNeil has been broken up. While this move might open up more time for some of the club’s young infielders, it also creates yet another hole in the roster at left field. McNeil has primarily played second base since coming up through the Mets’ minor league system, but his value was in his ability to play multiple positions, including all three outfield spots. Without Nimmo, the Mets were already in need of a left fielder. That need is now even greater.

Carson Benge, a highly-ranked outfield prospect, was expected to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster at center field, but the Mets could look to use him in left. Jared Young, a left-handed hitting first baseman and outfielder with minor league options, will likely be the fill-in guy going between Triple-A and the big leagues once again. Young hit .186 with four homers in 23 major league games last season.

A scouting success for the Mets at a time when they needed it, McNeil hit his way from the 12th round of the 2013 draft up through the minor league system.McNeil embodied the ethos of the college’s infamous baseball name by playing with a chip on his shoulder and an all-out energy. He hit his way to the big leagues, breaking through in 2018 at 26 years old. The following season, he hit .318 with a .916 OPS to become an All-Star for the first time. He returned to the All-Star game in 2022 en route to winning the NL batting title with a .326 average, beating Freddie Freeman on the final day of play.

The Mets rewarded him with a four-year contract extension in January 2023, but he hasn’t looked like the same player since. McNeil’s production dropped in 2023 and in the first half of 2024. There was speculation that the rules limiting the shift had robbed McNeil of hits, but the Mets were never entirely sure.

Though he’s struggled with injuries over the last few years, McNeil still managed to find more power in 2024 and 2025, and the hits once again started falling. In Sacramento, he should be able to hit for plenty of power. The A’s will spend at least two more seasons in a Triple-A ballpark before moving to Las Vegas.

Over parts of eight seasons, McNeil hit .284 with a .779 OPS and 80 home runs. Defensively, he played every position on the field except for pitcher and catcher.

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