Jeff McNeil on His Successful 2025 Campaign, and Playing in Sacramento

The former New York Mets second baseman is ready for the next step in his career

May 27, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil (1) hits an RBI sacrifice fly during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

At his introductory press conference with the A's earlier this week, former New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil provided his thoughts on his former team's teardown this season, the A's young core, and a quick assessment of his 2025 campaign. That season consisted of him batting .243 with a .335 on-base percentage, thanks in part to the highest walk rate of his career at 10.6%.

Coupled with his strikeout rate of just 11.9%, this helped to make him a fairly productive hitter for the Mets in 2025, as he earned a 111 wRC+ (100 is league average). The Athletics were looking for an upgrade at second base following an injury-riddled campaign from Zack Gelof, where the players they put at the keystone put up a 70 wRC+.

That's a huge potential swing in production the A's are getting by adding McNeil—one that could help them improve from a top-10 offense in 2025 to even higher next year.

How 2025 compared to his best year in 2022

We asked McNeil what seemed to click for him in '25, after a couple of seasons on the league average side at the dish, and he was very pleased with the year he put up this past season.

"I feel like this last year I had a really good year. I was above an .800 OPS I felt like most of the year. Down the stretch, my shoulder was bugging me a little bit, and I wasn't swinging the bat too well. It was just a grind for me. I didn't finish the year how I wanted to, but I felt like I had made some great strides last year."

Before we talk about those strides he made, let's take a look at the drop-off that occurred in September. In the first half of the season, McNeil hit .253 with a .341 OBP, and held an impressive 123 wRC+. If he'd kept that up, he would have been a top-5 second baseman on the year.

Unfortunately, his stats on the season cratered in September. After holding steady with a 125 wRC+ in August, the veteran hit just .187 with a .274 OBP and a 53 wRC+ in the final month. Up until those final few weeks, he'd been having quite the bounce back campaign.

McNeil even went so far as to say that his season, at least analytically, was comparable to the one he had in 2022 when he won the NL batting title. He blamed a low BABIP (.253) this past year for some of the difference between the two seasons.

He also noted that he was hitting the ball hard, which was a little bit of an understatement. He held an average exit velocity of 87.2 miles per hour on the year, and that was the highest he'd put up since the 2021 campaign when it was at 88.1 mph.

He also addressed what he's working on for 2026. "This year, I just kind of want to build on what I did last year. I felt like I improved my bat speed quite a bit, hit for a little bit more power [and] was driving the ball a little more. So that's what I'm trying to do this offseason is trying to get bigger, trying to get stronger, but at the same time not lose who I am.

"I'm a contact hitter. I like to put the ball in play and make things happen. I feel like our middle infield this year is probably going to strike out the least amount in the league. With Wilson, he's a free swinger. I love watching that guy hit. He's so much fun."

The bat speed in question has only been tracked for the past three seasons, so there isn't a ton of data to go on in order to compare his stats to more successful seasons.

That said, his bat speed has gone up tremendously since 2023, when it ranked in the 8th percentile at 68.1. It climbed a bit in 2024, sitting in the 13th percentile at 68.8, but then took a big leap up to the 27th percentile this past season, sitting at 70.7.

That may not seem like a big deal, but typically low strikeout guys have slower bats, so for McNeil to be increasing his bat speed (and slug potential) while also maintaining his strikeout numbers, is impressive.

For comparison, Jacob Wilson ranked in the 1st percentile in bat speed at 63.9 this past season. Luis Arraez was also in the first percentile in bat speed and only notched eight homers in 620 at-bats. Wilson managed 13 in 486, while McNeil slugged 12 in 399. That added bat speed helped him add nearly 30 points of slugging between 2024 and 2025.

Heading to a minor-league park in Sacramento, those numbers could jump even further.

McNeil on playing in Sacramento

After talking about some of the bad luck he'd had at the plate in 2025, we asked him how it feels to be headed to Sutter Health Park, where the park factors could favor left-handers a little more.

"I've played a few games there. I think in the minor leagues I might have played like, two games there. I didn't make the trip this year, I was hurt, so I didn't get to play there this year. But I've heard nothing but great things. You know, it's basically—it is the PCL (Pacific Coast League)—so the ball flies. You know, smaller ballpark, you've got to take advantage of those home games.

"Super excited. Hopefully I get some hit to drop this year, and we can have a great year."