Miami Marlins rivals now have another issue

Spring Training is on the way and there are intriguing position battles along the way. In the meantime, Miami Marlins division rivals are having injury issues. I'm never happy about that as these are real people with real injuries, and my hope is that they get back to playing as soon as possible. In this case, I'm talking about Jeff McNeil. He has a right oblique injury at the moment.

Miami Marlins division rivals have been hit with unfortunate injuries.

The New York Mets have been hit with a lot of injuries in Spring Training. Some of those injuries could've been expected to be honest. The one to McNeil not so much though. The second baseman is going through a bad time in his career. It seems as if his prime was back in 2022. That season, he batted .326/.382/.454, with 9 home runs and 62 RBI in 148 games and 533 AB.

Jeff McNeil was on a downward swing the last two seasons. In 2023, he batted .270/.333/.378, with 10 home runs and 55 RBI in 156 games and 585 AB. He was worth 5.7 WAR in 2022, but just 2.4 WAR in 2023. An above average mark, but more than double than the mark that he set in 2022. In 2024, McNeil batted .238/.308/.384, with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 129 games and 424 AB. He was worth 1.6 WAR, a below average mark.

Things are not looking good for the Mets with so many injuries. They will likely not be hurt too much without the 32 year old McNeil however. Luisangel Acuna is a fitting replacement for the time being, and giving the youngster a chance seems to be the right call. I'm curious to see if McNeil's time on the team is actually coming to an end. He's still due $15.75 million this season, next season and there's also a team option on the 2027 season, with a $2 million buyout. That buyout is almost certainly getting used.

I hope that Jeff McNeil recovers as soon as possible and that he's able to get his career back on track.