WASHINGTON — Jeff McNeil appeared to have turned a corner on the Mets’ last road trip, but his latest turn is toward the bench.
After a 5-for-32 (.156) homestand, the slumping second baseman was absent from the lineup as the Mets began their three-game series against the Nationals on Monday.
It was the second time in four games that Jose Iglesias started in McNeil’s spot, but unlike the last instance the desire to give McNeil a rest wasn’t cited by manager Carlos Mendoza.
“We’re giving Jeff another day to continue to work on some things and get back on track,” Mendoza said before the Mets won 8-7 at Nationals Park.
Jeff McNeil, pictured earlier this season, wasn’t in the lineup when the Mets faced the Nationals on Monday. Robert Sabo for the NY PostIglesias produced big on this night, finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI and stolen base.
“It’s a perfect time for me to be on this great team that wants to win, and contribute and continue to communicate with the players like we have been doing” said the veteran infielder Iglesias, who was selected from Triple-A Syracuse on Friday.
“There’s so many ways that you can contribute to a team, not necessarily with the bat or the defense. There’s the energy and you keep pushing teammates and supporting them. It’s about vibe.”
McNeil, according to Mendoza, is lifting the ball too much.
“He’s a guy that won a batting title by hitting line drives from line to line and right now we’re not seeing that consistently,” Mendoza said. “There’s been stretches of a couple of games where you go, ‘OK, he’s back,’ and then he goes some games where he is just missing pitches. We want him to square baseballs and hit line drives the way he is capable.”
Jeff McNeil has struggled against both lefties and righties this season. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
The Mets are trying to get Jeff McNeil “back on track,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. Corey Sipkin for the NY PostMcNeil homered in consecutive games two weeks ago in Cleveland as part of a 7-for-23 (.304) stretch, but entering play had only one extra-base hit since then and was without a multi-hit game.
The fact lefty MacKenzie Gore started for the Nationals likely weighed into Mendoza’s decision.
But McNeil has equally underperformed against lefties and righties this season.
Against righties entering play he had a .618 OPS.
Against lefties he had a .613 OPS.
Overall he owned a disappointing .227/.296/.320 slash line with three homers and 14 RBIs.
Mendoza was noncommittal about the possibility of a platoon between McNeil and Iglesias.
“When [McNeil] is on it doesn’t matter who is on the mound,” Mendoza said. “He’s pretty good against lefties when he’s on. When he’s feeling right … this is not strictly a righty or lefty matchup. It’s just more getting Jeff back on track. Right now he is working through something.”
