{"id":517191,"date":"2026-01-12T20:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/517191\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:28:14","slug":"jeff-mcneil-makes-something-clear-after-leaving-ny-mets-to-join-as","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/517191\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff McNeil makes something clear after leaving NY Mets to join A\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MLB offseason has been anything but quiet so far. Stars have moved to new teams, while several free agents still don\u2019t have a confirmed destination. The New York Mets<\/a> have found themselves in the spotlight, watching as Jeff McNeil ultimately sealed his move to the Oakland Athletics.<\/p>\n

Leaving Queens is never easy\u2014especially giving up the chance to play at Citi Field, a stadium that holds a special place in every Mets fan\u2019s heart. Still, McNeil knows that what lies ahead promises to be just as bright.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard nothing but great things\u2026 The ball flies. Smaller ballpark, you\u2019ve got to take advantage of those home games. Super excited. Hopefully, I can get some hits to drop and we can have a great year,\u201d he said via Sleeper Athletics.<\/p>\n

This season, McNeil is making the move to the AL West after several years in the Big Apple. A new team, new aspirations, but the same goal as always: giving his best to help his teammates have a standout season.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff<\/p>\n

Jeff McNeil #1 of the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

Replacing McNeil won\u2019t be easy<\/p>\n

Following the trade of Jeff McNeil to the Athletics<\/a>, Carlos Mendoza will likely lean on Luisangel Acu\u00f1a and Ronny Mauricio to fill the void at second base for the 2026 season. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

The NY Yankees offer Cody Bellinger reportedly turned down with NY Mets still in contention<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Acu\u00f1a, who batted .234 with 16 stolen bases in 2025, provides elite speed and defensive versatility, while Mauricio offers more power potential after recording 6 home runs and an 88 wRC+ in his limited 61-game return last year. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the acquisition of veteran Marcus Semien provides a stable, Gold Glove-caliber solution for the middle infield as these younger prospects continue to develop.<\/p>\n

Mets eye Kyle Tucker, but face competition<\/p>\n

The New York Mets remain heavily engaged in the sweepstakes for star outfielder Kyle Tucker<\/a>, viewing him as the perfect left-handed bat to protect Juan Soto in their 2026 lineup. <\/p>\n

While the Mets are pushing for a high-AAV deal, the Dodgers and Blue Jays join Mets in major move to pursue Tucker<\/a>, with Toronto reportedly offering the long-term security he covets. <\/p>\n

As all three teams have now held formal meetings with the free agent, the race has intensified into a high-stakes bidding war between the league\u2019s most aggressive spenders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The MLB offseason has been anything but quiet so far. Stars have moved to new teams, while several…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2391],"tags":[537,5,4,3226,61,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-517191","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athletics","8":"tag-athletics","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-mlb-athletics","12":"tag-new-york-mets","13":"tag-oakland-athletics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115884019429162406","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}