It’s always difficult for city rivals to work together at the trade deadline, but legendary New York radio host Mike Francesa has a suggestion for Mets president David Stearns and Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
“To me, the perfect addition for the Yankees is [Jeff] McNeill,” Francesa said.Mike Francesa’s Podcast“First of all, he’s miserable with the Mets. The Mets can’t stand the way he looks anymore and he can’t stand the Mets anymore. He hasn’t been happy there for a long time. To be honest, he doesn’t fit in with the Mets. To be honest, they [Jose] More than anything they like Iglesias, and we know that.”
In this scenario, the Yankees would send a minor league pitcher to the Mets.
McNeil’s playing time has been reduced due to a prolonged slump, while Mark Vientos has taken over the starting third base spot and Iglesias has been playing well off the bench.
Prospect Luis Ángel Acuña is close behind him at Triple-A.
McNeil played right and left field for the Mets last weekend, but went 1-for-7 in four games against the Pirates and is currently batting .214/.271/.307 with a career-worst OPS of .578.
Francesa added that McNeil is having the worst season of his career and may need a change of scenery to regain his former glory.
The short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium is a nice added perk for left-handed hitters.
McNeil will likely platoon with Gleyber Torres at second base.
Torres himself has struggled this season and is currently nursing a hamstring injury.
“[McNeil] “He’s a platoon player at best right now, with a lifetime batting average of .290,” Francesa says. “He’s hitting .214 with a .590 OPS. An .800 OPS is not an unreasonable OPS for him. In a good year, he’s a guy who can hit 15 home runs and 40 doubles.”
“The Yankees have millions of guys in the minor leagues who could be in the Mets’ relief corps. They got a ton of them. The Mets probably [them].”
Francesa noted that the chances of this deal happening are slim to say the least, given the backlash the Yankees have already received from trading for Luis Torrens.
Torrens has been the Mets’ backup catcher since the Yankees traded him to Queens for $100,000.
“It’s very difficult for them to get a deal done because when you’re playing in the same town, that’s human nature,” Francesa said.
The Yankees and Mets have made 17 trades in their franchise history, most notably when Robin Ventura was sent to the Yankees for David Justice in 2001.
