PHILADELPHIA — The Met having the wildest week wasn’t even with the team until Sunday.
Jeff McNeil returned to the clubhouse on Sunday after spending a week and a half home in California, rehabbing his right wrist and attending the birth of his second child. That meant McNeil watching Pete Alonso’s go-ahead home run from the maternity unit of the hospital.
“It was an experience,” McNeil said. “(My wife) said, ‘Don’t go crazy.’ They’re going to think she had the baby right there. He hit the homer, I tried to contain myself, but it was a pretty special moment.”
McNeil has been out since fracturing his right wrist one month ago Sunday. He restarted baseball activities in the last week, taking swings off a tee and fielding groundballs. On Sunday, he ran through a full workout on the field and took batting practice.
“I don’t have any pain there right now. It’s more just getting the range of motion back,” he said.
While the Mets haven’t ruled out a return for the versatile player in the National League Championship Series, the World Series might be a more realistic target, should they continue advancing in the postseason.
“I’m hoping for anything,” McNeil said. “I want to be ready to play. I know there are a few more steps I have to take care of in order to be ready. We’ll work on that.”
The biggest obstacle for McNeil will be getting at-bats against live pitching. He’s been hitting off a tee at home and took batting practice in the cage on Sunday. But the minor-league season is over, so the typical path toward live at-bats is closed.
The best route for McNeil to get ready likely involves a trip to Port St. Lucie for at-bats against Mets minor-league pitchers who are training at the team’s facility. McNeil didn’t think he’d need too many live at-bats, and hitting coach Jeremy Barnes indicated McNeil usually can find his timing quicker than most.
If and when he does return, McNeil would provide a much-needed left-handed bat for the Mets. In his absence, New York has grown increasingly right-handed, with Brandon Nimmo the only regular left-handed bat in the lineup each day. McNeil’s versatility also would give manager Carlos Mendoza extra flexibility with his lineup: McNeil could step in at second base or play a corner outfield spot.
“He’s been a huge part of this team the whole year, he’s been in this organization for a long time. I don’t think it will be that much of a challenge (to work him back into the lineup),” Mendoza said. “It’ll play itself out.”
(Photo of Jeff McNeil taking batting practice during the London Series in June: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
