| Jeff McNeil | |||||||||||||||
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.jpg) McNeil with the Mets in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Athletics – No. 22 | |||||||||||||||
| Utility player | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1992-04-08)April 8, 1992 (age 33) Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| July 24, 2018, for the New York Mets | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .284 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 920 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 80 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 367 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Jeffrey Todd McNeil (born April 8, 1992), nicknamed "Squirrel" or "Flying Squirrel,"[1][2] is an American professionalbaseballutility player for theAthletics ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theNew York Mets. McNeil made his MLB debut in 2018. In 2022, McNeil started theAll-Star Game at second base, won theMLB Batting Title and theSilver Slugger Award.
McNeil attendedNipomo High School inNipomo, California. He played baseball,basketball andgolf. McNeil played three seasons of high school basketball and averaged 17 points per game as a senior.[3] McNeil focused primarily on his golf career until his disappointing performance in the 2009U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship, after which his focus shifted to baseball.[3][4][5] Since the high school golf and baseball seasons are both in spring, he did not play baseball until his senior year, but was offered a scholarship to playcollege baseball atCal State Northridge due to his performance in summer ball.[3][6] He hit .446 as a senior and committed to play at Cal State Northridge.[3]
After Northridge's coach left the school, McNeil changed his commitment toLong Beach State. In 2012, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theBrewster Whitecaps of theCape Cod Baseball League.[7] As a junior in 2013, McNeil had a .348batting average with 11strikeouts in 221at bats; he was named to the All-Big West first team.[3][8]
TheNew York Mets selected McNeil in the 12th round of the2013 Major League Baseball draft. After signing, McNeil made his professional debut that summer with theKingsport Mets, hitting .329 in 47 games. He played 2014 with theSavannah Sand Gnats andSt. Lucie Mets, hitting .292 with three home runs, 51 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases in 117 games, and 2015 with St. Lucie andBinghamton Mets, slashing .308/.369/.377 with one home run, 40 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 123 games. After the 2015 season, he played in theArizona Fall League.[9]
In 2016, McNeil began using an unorthodox knoblessbat given to him by Mets minor league hitting coordinatorLamar Johnson; he thenceforth began using knobless bats exclusively.[10] He played in only 51 games combined in 2016 and 2017 with Binghamton, St. Lucie andLas Vegas 51s due to numerous injuries.[11] McNeil started 2018 with theBinghamton Rumble Ponies and was promoted to Las Vegas during the season.[12]
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McNeil was promoted to the Major Leagues on July 24, 2018. He recorded his first Major League hit that night atCiti Field againstPhil Hughes of theSan Diego Padres on the first pitch he saw.[13] On July 31, McNeil hit his first Major Leaguehome run, offTanner Roark of theWashington Nationals. In his rookie season with the Mets, he batted .329/.381/.471 in 225 at bats. He led all MLB hitters (140 or more plate appearances) in batting average against right-handers, at .345.[14] McNeil received one vote in the 2018National League Rookie of the Year Award polling, placing him in a three-way tie for sixth place withHarrison Bader andYoshihisa Hirano.[15]
McNeil developed a reputation early in his Major League career as a "throwback" player notable for his high contact rate and low strikeout rate.[16][17][18]
After playing second base in all but four defensive games during the 2018 season, McNeil spent the majority of 2019 in left field given that the Mets traded for second basemanRobinson Canó during the offseason.[19] On June 30, 2019, McNeil was named to theNational League All-Star team, his first selection. On August 5, 2019, McNeil recorded his 200th career hit in his 599th career at bat, becoming the fastest player in Mets history to 200 career hits.[20] In 2019, he batted .318/.384/.531 with 23 home runs and 75 RBIs.[19] Of all Major League batters, McNeil swung at the highest percentage of pitches (59.9%) and the highest percentage of pitches inside the strike zone (85%).[21]
Heading into the 2020 season,MLB Network ranked McNeil the fifth-best third baseman in baseball.[22] In spite of that, McNeil again spent the majority of his games in left field for the Mets. In thepandemic-shortened 2020 season, he batted .311/.383/.454 with 4 home runs and 23 RBIs in 52 games.[19] He became the first Mets player sinceDavid Wright in 2005–09 to have a batting average of .300 or more in three straight seasons.[23]
Prior to the 2021 season, MLB Network ranked McNeil the second-best second baseman in MLB and the best in theNational League.[24] That season, he batted .251/.319/.360 with 7 home runs and 35 RBIs in 120 games.
For the 2022 season, McNeil changed his uniform number to 1 so newly signed outfielderStarling Marte could wear number 6.[25]
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On June 10, 2022, McNeil was named to the2022 MLB All-Star Game as a representative for theNational League, the second selection of his career. Originally chosen as a reserve for the squad, he wound up as the starting second baseman afterMiami Marlins second basemanJazz Chisholm Jr. decided not to play due to injury. He was the first Mets' position player to start anAll-Star Game sinceDavid Wright in2013.[26] McNeil went 0-for-1 with aHBP and a groundout in the game.
McNeil finished the 2022 season with a .326 batting average, the highest batting average of all qualified major league batters, winning theNational League batting title.[27][28] He was the first Met to do so sinceJosé Reyes in 2011.[29] He also became the first Met in franchise history to lead MLB in batting average.[30] McNeil had the lowest called strike plus whiff rate in the majors, at 19.0%.[31] He described the season as a "bounce-back year" from a comparatively poor 2021.[32] It was described inThe Athletic as "a massive rebound."[33]
On November 10, 2022, McNeil won his first careerSilver Slugger Award forsecond baseman. He was the first Met to win the award sinceYoenis Céspedes in 2016.[34] He also became the first Mets second baseman to win the award sinceEdgardo Alfonzo in 1999.[35]
On January 27, 2023, McNeil agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract extension with the Mets including a fifth-year club option.[36] On August 5, he hit the 50th home run of his career off ofBaltimore Orioles starting pitcherKyle Gibson.[37] McNeil played in a career-high 156 games for the team in 2023, hitting .270/.333/.378 with 10 home runs, 55 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. On September 28, McNeil was placed on theinjured list with a partially tornUCL in his right elbow. He additionally received aplatelet-rich plasma injection, and avoided surgery.[38]
On September 6, 2024, McNeil fractured his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch fromCincinnati Reds pitcherBrandon Williamson, and it was revealed that he would likely miss 6–8 weeks, which ended his regular season.[39] On September 8, the Mets placed McNeil on the 10-day injured list, ending his season after 129 games, in which he slashed .238/.308/.384 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI.[40] After missing the first two rounds of the Mets'postseason run, McNeil was added to their 26-man roster for the2024 NLCS.[41] He hit two sacrifice flies in Game 5 and had a 9th inning RBI single in Game 6 against theLos Angeles Dodgers.[42] Across 5 games in the 2024 postseason, McNeil struggled as he went 2-for-11 (.182) with no home runs and 3 RBI.[43]
On March 13, 2025, McNeil suffered a low-grade rightoblique strain and would begin the season on the injured list.[44] On April 24, the Mets activated him from the IL and made his season debut the next day against theWashington Nationals.[45] In his debut, he went 1-for-4 with no walks in a 5–4 loss.[46] McNeil made 122 appearances for New York on the year, slashing .243/.335/.411 with 12 home runs and 54 RBI. Following the season, McNeil underwent a procedure to addressthoracic outlet syndrome.[47]
On December 22, 2025, the Mets traded McNeil and cash considerations to theAthletics in exchange for minor league pitcher Yordan Rodriguez.[48][49]
McNeil played for theUnited States national baseball team at the2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).[50] Across five games, McNeil had five walks and one hit (good for a .385OBP), notably scoring two runs againstCuba in the semifinals.[51][52] During theChampionship Game againstJapan, McNeil led off the seventh and ninth innings with the United States down 3–2. He was the only player to get on base in the final inning, working out a seven-pitch walk before opposing pitcherShohei Ohtani gotMookie Betts to ground into adouble play and struck outMike Trout, resulting in a second-place finish for Team USA.[53]
McNeil married his wife Tatiana (née DaSilva) on February 3, 2018 inNipomo, California.[54] The couple adopted a dog, named Ms. Willow McNeil, during the 2019 season, which became "a social media sensation".[55] They have two children, a son and a daughter, born July 2022 and October 2024, respectively.[56][57]
Despite giving up a professional golf career McNeil still plays regularly. He participated in the2023 New York State Open and won the2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions celebrity division.[58][59]
