NEW YORK -- Jeff McNeil¡¯s birthday present was a flight to Florida, where he will begin a rehab assignment later this week. Francisco Alvarez is coming along for the ride.
McNeil and Alvarez, two injured Mets regulars, are both scheduled to begin Minor League rehab assignments this week, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Alvarez, who underwent surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone in early March, will play for Single-A St. Lucie beginning Wednesday. McNeil, who is recovering from a strained right oblique, will enter an extended spring training progression for a few days, before beginning his own rehab assignment later this weekend.
Both players stand strong chances of returning before the end of April -- potentially even well before.
¡°It¡¯s just going to continue to make our lineup a lot deeper,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°When you¡¯re talking about a right-handed hitter with power and a left-handed hitter in Jeff, bat-to-ball skills, batting average-type guy that can also drive the ball, it makes us deeper and also adds balance to our lineup.¡±
Heading into Spring Training, the Mets expected Alvarez and McNeil to be their starting catcher and second baseman, respectively. Instead, Alvarez fractured his hamate bone while taking a swing during live batting practice, and McNeil strained his oblique a few days later. (He¡¯s still not sure how.)
In Alvarez¡¯s absence, catchers Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger broke camp for the Mets, with the light-hitting Senger garnering most of the recent reps due to a bruised right forearm that has limited Torrens. The reintroduction of Alvarez, a 23-year-old who hit 25 homers two years ago, could add significant thump to New York¡¯s lineup.
Then there is McNeil, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday. Although McNeil has hit just .257 over two seasons since winning the National League batting title with a .326 mark in 2022, the Mets have received virtually zero production from their active second basemen. Brett Baty and Luisangel Acu?a entered Tuesday¡¯s play batting a combined .108. Despite solid defense, they had produced -0.5 WAR, the worst figure of any NL second-base unit.
¡°I¡¯d love to see one of them step up,¡± president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday. ¡°I¡¯d love to see one of them take advantage of at-bats and perform. That¡¯s what someone like Mark Vientos did last year when he got an opportunity, and he solidified a spot at the Major League level. You love to see that from young players. I also understand it can¡¯t always happen at the exact moment we want it to.¡±
For all McNeil¡¯s issues, he was productive in the second half last year, slashing .289/.376/.548 over his final 43 games. He is also a steady defender at second base when healthy.
¡°These obliques, they¡¯re tricky,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°So we¡¯ll continue to watch him, continue to monitor him, and see how he responds once he starts playing games and he starts facing [advanced pitching]. ¡ We¡¯ll see where we¡¯re at.¡±