The A’s could use some help at second base, and this trade with the Mets wouldn’t cost too much in prospect capital
The Athletics can use some upgrades at a few of spots around the diamond, and two of those areas of need are second and third base. With uncertainty for the New York Mets at first base now that Pete Alonso has hit free agency again, it’s unlikely that last year’s A’s target, Brett Baty, will be as talked about this winter.
However, their aging second baseman Jeff McNeil is already being mentioned as a big trade piece for the Mets, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. What complicates a potential trade of McNeil is that he’s recovering from thoracic outlet surgery, also according to Sherman. McNeil’s agent has reportedly said that his client expects to be ready for Spring Training.
This past season, the Mets second baseman played in 122 games split between second (79), center (34), left (10), DH (10) right field (7) and first base (2). That versatility would be helpful for the Athletics this coming season.
At the dish, he hit .243 with a .335 OBP and belted 12 home runs while turning in a 111 wRC+ (100 is league average). Over his career, McNeil has turned in a solid baseline of being right around league average at the dish, while also reach up to as high as 44% above the league with the bat in 2019. Since 2022 he has run out a 140, 99, 97, and then a 111 this past season.
Having that kind of standard veteran production is what A’s manager Mark Kotsay described when we asked him about what makes a core player around the trade deadline. Consistency was the big key for him, and know what you were going to get from a player day after day and year after year.
While he has proven to be versatile, McNeil would be most useful to the A’s at second base, where he is the best defender. Across 576 innings at second last year, he racked up +2 Defensive Runs Saved and +4 Outs Above Average, so he was a little better than league average with the glove.
The one question for the A’s to answer here is whether making a move to add that much salary is the right call, given that they have pre-arb options to consider in Darell Hernaiz and Max Muncy. The questions are how badly the A’s want to compete in 2026, and how much they believe in those younger options being at least league average on both sides of the ball.
McNeil is set to make $15.75 million in 2026, and has a club option for the same salary the following year. That’s a pretty sizable contract, and there is no way that the A’s, or any team, would take on the full amount while also sending over any meaningful pieces to New York.
That’s where things get interesting, since we’re likely looking at the Mets eating a good portion of the contract, perhaps $5.75 million to make it an even $10 million contract in 2026 for the acquiring team. But that recent surgery presents another problem, which is whether or not he’ll be playing from the beginning of camp or not.
The money and the injury will certainly limit what teams are willing to send back to New York in a potential deal.
He’s not going to take a big-time prospect in order to acquire, given the money attached and the injury question at hand. We’re likely looking at someone in the lower half of the A’s top-30 prospects on MLB Pipeline, which is a better than the deal it would take to acquire Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals.
It would be a better cost of acquisition for the A’s, but is it the right move for them? That’s a tough call, considering that they aren’t one Jeff McNeil away from a deep run in October. That said, adding his services would be a huge boost to the roster and could help the young roster down the line.
