McNeil has wrist fracture, will miss rest of regular season

NEW YORK -- The Mets' surge toward a postseason berth hit a speed bump on Saturday with the news that two-time All-Star second baseman Jeff McNeil will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a fractured right wrist that will cost him four to six weeks.

“Not good, the MRI this morning showed a wrist fracture, he’s likely done for the year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said on Saturday afternoon. “Huge blow. … The way he’s been playing the past two months all the way to this point, he’s been a huge reason, one of the reasons, why we got to this position.”

News of the fracture, announced before that afternoon's game against the Reds, came a day after McNeil was struck by a Brandon Williamson pitch in the fifth inning of a 6-4 Mets win. Both McNeil and his manager were surprised by the news, initially believing that he was fine, as he played the field until he was pinch-hit for by Harrison Bader in the bottom of the sixth.

“I thought nothing of it really, it was a breaking ball: 95 percent sure it hit the [wrist] guard I was wearing,” McNeil said. “It didn’t hurt that bad running the bases, and then I started to feel it a little bit warming up the next inning, just throwing the ball to first base.

“Got to the dugout, wanted to make sure that I could swing -- that was kind of the main thing. Went into the cage, and it just didn’t feel good to swing. So it was more that turning-over motion that made it flare up.”

According to Mendoza, the doctors did not mention any need for surgery on McNeil’s right wrist, with the immediate game plan involving rest to let the small fracture heal.

Jose Iglesias played second base for the rest of Friday's game and is expected to take over that position on a regular basis with McNeil slated to miss substantial time. Pablo Reyes, who was called up on Sept. 1, will also provide depth at the position. Mendoza shared that New York will play short-handed on Saturday, but a move for another infielder is on the horizon, with internal options like Luisangel Acuña being explored.

“We’re having those conversations, we’ll play short today because we just got the news,” Mendoza said. “We’ll get someone here tomorrow. Whether we want to bring someone like Acuña, or do we want to go with a lefty bat? Those are some of the things we’re discussing.”

McNeil, who won the NL batting title with a .326 average just two years ago, has had a down season by his standards with a .238/.308/.384 slash line. The 32-year-old had begun to show signs of breaking out, however, with a .289 average and .923 OPS since the All-Star break.

There’s a sliver of hope that McNeil could return to the Mets for the back end of a deep postseason run, but the time crunch of the initial timeline of four to six weeks makes it difficult. At this point, it’s a matter of waiting patiently for good news.

“Yeah, [I’m] frustrated, not how you want to end the season,” McNeil said. “A little unfortunate, I want to be out there with the guys -- this team has done so much. Just want to contribute. But [we’ve] got a good group of guys in there who can do it, and [I’m] just going to be happy to be here and be part of it.”