Mets' Jeff McNeil will miss rest of regular season with broken wrist

NEW YORK — When Jeff McNeil took a 74 mph curveball off his padded right wrist on Friday night, the Mets second baseman did not feel it.

He headed back into the field for the next half inning. But when he went to swing a bat before the sixth inning, he knew something was not quite.

An MRI revealed the worst-case for McNeil as he will now be sidelined for four to six weeks with a fractured right wrist. McNeil said he believe the fracture to be "really small" compared to 2019 when he suffered a right distal ulnar fracture.

"Yeah, frutrated, this is not how you want to kind of end the season. The end of the season hurt last year, as well, with my elbow. A little unfortunate. I want to be out there with the guys.

"The team's done so much and you just want to help contribute. Got a good group of guys in there who can do it. I'm just gonna be happy to be here and be part of it."

The injury will keep McNeil out for the remainder of the regular season and early into any potential playoff run for the Mets. McNeil also finished the 2023 season on the injured list after suffering a partially torn UCL in his elbow last September.

Roster implications of Jeff McNeil's injury

Carlos Mendoza said the news came as a shock after McNeil's reaction to being hit on Friday night. The Mets will play down a player for Saturday's game, with Jose Iglesias in the starting lineup at second base and Pablo Reyes available off the bench.

Luisangel Acuña, the Mets' No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, looms as a possible candidate to be called up from Triple-A Syracuse. DJ Stewart, who was up while J.D. Martinez was on the paternity list earlier this week, would likely be considered, as well.

"We'll get someone here tomorrow," Mendoza said. "Whether we want to bring someone like Acuña or do we want to go with a lefty bat, those are some of the things that we're discussing now."

Mendoza said that the Mets will have to monitor the workload for Iglesias and make sure they are not pushing him too far. In 64 games this season, since being called up on May 31, Iglesias is slashing .312/.361/.435 with 12 doubles, three home runs, 23 RBI and 26 runs.

"It's good especially since he first came up and how he's contributing to the field, not only on the field but off the field" Mendoza said. "You always feel good with him making defensive plays, whether it's at second base or third base. He's going to give you good at-bats. He's going to put the ball in play."

A rough ending to an up-and-down season

The injury comes at a tough time for McNeil, who had been rounding into form after a rough first half of the season.

After opening with a .591 OPS with five home runs, 35 runs and 24 RBI in the first, McNeil turned it around with a .923 OPS with seven home runs, 20 RBI and 22 runs so far in the second half.

"Proud of him because he fought and he never put his head down," Mendoza said. "He was a big reason why in our turnaround, so big blow for us. Tough year for him, but we just wish him a quick recovery here."

Mendoza was proud that McNeil owned his struggles early in the season and managed to improve both offensively and defensively as the season went on.

"I started spring training hurt as well with that biceps injury and then started the season slow but was able to kind of be myself for the last two, two and a half, three months," McNeil said. "I wanted to finish the season strong and it's just unfortunate this is what it is."

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mets' Jeff McNeil will miss rest of regular season with broken wrist