McNeil to the Rescue! Can He Stabilize the Mets Lineup and Lead the Team to Victory?
With the addition of Juan Soto, the New York Mets have been called a top-heavy order. But one MLB insider believes that a former batting champion can give the Mets a more complete lineup.
In an interview with the MLB Network on Sunday, SI insider Tom Verducci revealed why he believes the back half of the Mets lineup will be able to hold its own this season.
“We all know about the top,” Verducci said of the order, “but there’s going to be a lot of thump toward the back half of this lineup.”
At the Mets’ spring training camp in Port St. Lucie, Verducci noted that second baseman Jeff McNeil was using a different bat during live batting practice. Previously, including in his 2022 NL batting title season, McNeil used an “old-school bat” with no knob and a thicker handle. This year in spring training, the 32-year-old has gone to a more traditional bat with a knob; Verducci added that McNeil is also looking to change his approach at the plate.
“If you recall, in the second half of last season Jeff slugged over .500. In the offseason, he said ‘You know what, I want to continue to do that, to hit for power and not for average’. He worked especially on getting his bat speed up and to do that, he went to the more traditional bat.”
