For many fans, the New York Mets have gone through a rollercoaster of expectations since acquiring superstar slugger Juan Soto two years ago.
Soto instantly raised the team’s playoff expectations but it failed to reach the postseason last year, then it parted ways with several long-time stars shortly afterward. Then the front office reloaded the roster with star talent, from Freddy Peralta to Bo Bichette, and postseason expectations returned.
But for the first time since the Mets cleaned house, two-time All-Star Jeff McNeil has returned to New York as a member of the Athletics. And while he was preparing to face the New York Yankees, he was asked how life has been since he was traded.
“It’s been crazy,” McNeil told SNY’s Niki Lattarulo on Tuesday.
Athletics’ Jeff McNeil Sends New York Mets Message After Returning To New York
In December 2025, news broke that the Mets had agreed to trade McNeil and $5.75 million in a salary offset for teenaged pitching prospect Yordan Rodriguez. The offset was to help cover the final season of his four-year, $50 million contract, which also has a $15.7 million club option for 2027.
“I enjoyed my time over there (with the Mets), nothing but great things to say about the organization, but got traded and love it over here,” McNeil added. “It’s been nice.”
In his seven seasons with the Mets — the team that drafted him in 2013 — McNeil slashed .284/.351/.428 and earned a Silver Slugger Award as the National League batting champion in 2022.
New York Mets Cut Ties With Jeff McNeil ‘Expendable’ After Seven-Year Run
However, the versatile defender was one of the many long-tenured position players who left the team after its playoff disappointment.
“But the Mets, determined to improve their defense after a catastrophic campaign, decided the left-handed-hitting McNeil was not part of the puzzle for 2026 after acquiring Marcus Semien to play second base and signing Jorge Polanco to play first base this offseason,” Jorge Castillo wrote for ESPN at the time. “With Brett Baty the likely candidate to start at third base and Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuna — all on vastly cheaper salaries — rounding out the infield depth chart, McNeil became expendable in a winter that has already seen fellow Mets fixtures Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo join new teams.”
In his first 23 at-bats of his Athletics tenure, McNeil has four hits and eight strikeouts as his team fights to return to .500. Meanwhile, the Mets are looking to return to the playoffs without him, though the team is without Soto as well after placing him on the injured list on Monday.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com