How New York Mets' Jeff McNeil performed in rehab debut; What's next?

New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil started the first game of his rehab assignment for St. Lucie Friday evening.

Mar 7, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil (1) plays his position against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The New York Mets are in desperate need of their veteran second baseman Jeff McNeil. Friday, the 33-year-old took his first step towards returning from his oblique injury, starting in his first rehab game for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets.

Currently, the Mets have Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña platooning second base sans McNeil. The inexperienced pair has struggled mightily, combining for a dismal seven hits (Baty: 3-for-27, Acuña: 5-for-23). Baty has also struggled in the field, committing a costly error in New York's 5-0 loss to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

The hope around Queens is for the injured McNeil to return and make up for the lack of production at second. Based on his performance Friday and comments made by manager Carlos Mendoza, this relief could be coming soon.

Read More: New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil set to begin rehab assignment

McNeil notched a base hit in the start against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, going 1-for-2 with a walk in his five innings manning second base. The former NL batting champion led off for St. Lucie, with fellow rehabbing Met Francisco Alvarez batting second. McNeil's hit came on an 0-2 count with 2 outs in the top of the third inning. Alvarez then found himself down 0-2 before working the count and earning a walk. The pair then touched home as Drew Gilbert blasted a three-run home run.

Jeff McNeil gets a single, Francisco Alvarez battles from down 0-2 to work a walk, and Drew Gilbert brings them all home with a 3-run homer for St. Lucie! pic.twitter.com/YfD3qsFLuX

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 11, 2025

Ahead of New York's Friday night matchup with the Athletics, Mendoza informed the media that McNeil and Alvarez will both suit up for St. Lucie again on Sunday. Alvarez, with one more game of Single-A under his belt, will return to Citi Field Monday to be looked at by team doctors before shifting his rehab assignment to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. Barring any setbacks, McNeil will be on the same trajectory and end up in Syracuse after one more game in St. Lucie.

Rehab updates for the Mets:

🔷 Francisco Alvarez & Jeff McNeil will play Sunday for St. Lucie
🔷 Alvarez will return to Citi Field Monday and play in Syracuse Tuesday
🔷 McNeil will play one more game in St. Lucie, then go to Syracuse
🔷 Paul Blackburn threw live BP in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/TtFC3vx4ut

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2025

New York's second base situation is dire, and the team would benefit from just about anyone else playing the position. Luckily, McNeil is more than just anyone. In 2022, his .326 batting average was the best in all of baseball. The seven-year Met rebounded from a difficult start in 2024 where he hit .289 in the second half to salvage a .238 average on the season. McNeil is a two-time All-Star and holds a career .289/.353/.430 slash line since enterting the league in 2018.

When ready, McNeil will almost certainly slot right back in at second base for the NL East leading Mets, forcing the team to make a decision about the future of Baty and Acuña.