How Does Jeff McNeil Project in His First Season Outside of New York?

The A's are set for a big upgrade at second base in 2026

Aug 25, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil (1) reacts to hitting an RBI single against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Back in December, the A's made a pretty sizable upgrade at second base, acquiring Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets, and it didn't cost them a whole lot to do so, with DSL righty Yordan Rodriguez going back to New York.

Last season, with the injury-plagued year that Zack Gelof suffered through, the A's had to fill second base duties with a slew of guys. Veteran Luis Urías received the most playing time at second, batting .230 with a .315 OBP and an 84 wRC+. He was the best offensive player that the A's ran out there last season.

He was followed by Max Muncy (72), Max Schuemann (62) and Gelof (36). Though when you account for defensive abilities, Schuemann was the top performer of the bunch by a wide margin, finishing with 0.6 fWAR, while Urías (0.1) was the only other option with a positive WAR total.

So how is McNeil projected to finish in 2026?

Over at FanGraphs, their Steamer projections have him batting .264 with a .334 OBP, accounting for 11 home runs, 55 RBI, three stolen bases, and a 104 wRC+. All of that comes out to 1.8 fWAR.

Honestly, the A's would probably be fairly happy with those projections. They seem to be a combination of his last three seasons (99 wRC+, 97, 111), but may not be fully accounting for the A's lineup potential around him, or the ballpark that he'll be calling home in 2026. Those are just the couple of nitpicks with the projection.

That said, this is a huge upgrade over the production the club received last season. Combined, the A's held a 70 wRC+ at the position past year, which ranked them No 28 in baseball, just ahead of the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies. If these projections come true, that would be a 34% increase on the team's production at second base year-over-year, which is huge.

Back in 2024, the A's finished with a 90 wRC+ in left field, which was largely a combination of Miguel Andujar (103 wRC+) and Seth Brown (91), with some smatterings of Daz Cameron (70) and Esteury Ruiz (85). In 2025, that team number increased to 114, largely due to Tyler Soderstrom, who finished with a 125. Andujar contributed too, finishing at a 108.

The point here being that the A's could be going from Andujar/Brown (and company) levels of production at second base to Tyler Soderstrom, who was so good last year that he earned an extension this offseason. In fact, the 90 that the A's had in left field in 2024 is 35% lower than what Soderstrom produced at the position a year ago, so it would almost be the exact same increase.

The addition of McNeil should help lengthen the A's already solid lineup, which could make them a truly dangerous offensive club in 2026.