McNeil Benched For Fourth Consecutive Game on Saturday

The Mets flew across the Atlantic looking to continue their winning ways. They landed in London after a three-game sweep over the Nationals, and were tasked with facing the National League-leading Phillies.

While the Mets fell to the Phillies 7-2, and lost for the first time in six days, one thing was constant — Jeff McNeil was on the bench.

Instead of penciling in the 2022 National League batting champ at second, Carlos Mendoza wrote in Jose Iglesias. The major league veteran was signed to a minor league deal before the start of the season, and played in his fifth straight game on Saturday after being recalled on May 31.

The decision to play Iglesias has been bittersweet, but also a no-brainer for Mets management. McNeil entered June slashing .227/.296/.320 at the plate, while also registering negative three outs above average in the field. It’s been bad on both sides of the ball, and it’s led to a -0.1 bWAR through 57 games.

Meanwhile, since being recalled, Iglesias has been stellar. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and run batted in on Saturday, and finished the day slashing .389/.421/.444 through five games. The former Tiger has also looked youthful in the field, including a diving catch on a line drive Wednesday to complete the sweep over the Nationals.

Despite the drastic difference in results, and the Mets going 3-1 since Iglesias’s promotion, Mendoza has stayed true to his sentiment: McNeil has sat due to the Mets facing lefties.

“There’s nothing more to it other than four lefties here, Iglesias playing well,” Mendoza told Anthony DiComo. “…  I’ll give him another start. Jeff will be fine. I know it’s been six days or so since he’s been in the lineup, but he’ll continue to work, and he’ll get going.”

To credit Mendoza, the Mets have faced three tough lefties this past week. MacKenzie Gore, rookie DJ Herz, and Ranger Suárez took the mound against the Amazins’, prompting the Mets manager to sit the struggling McNeil.

The only issue is there are two major cracks in Mendoza’s sentiment. Firstly, McNeil has fared better against southpaws this season. The lefty is slashing .246/.290/.323 against lefties, which is still unappealing, but better than his .213 batting average against righties. Secondly, the Mets also faced Patrick Corbin on June 5, who McNeil is 10-for-37 against in his career.

Despite his better success against lefties, McNeil reiterated what his manager told the media. There were lefties, and Iglesias was going to get a look as a right-hand batter.

“I’m not looking too into it,” McNeil told DiComo. “We have a right-handed second baseman.”

Regardless of what is said, and what the numbers say, the public will have to take Mendoza’s comments to heart. McNeil sat against four lefties, and Iglesias got his shot after impressing Mets’ brass in Triple-A.

Still, there’s much to prove for McNeil. He’s been a massive hole for the offense this season, not only due to his stats, but because he was driving force for the 2022 team that went to the playoffs.

McNeil will get the chance to turn his season around on Sunday when the Mets face old friend Taijuan Walker. McNeil is 1-for-7 with one RBI against the former Met.

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