Mets trade McNeil to A's for 17-year-old pitching prospect Rodriguez

NEW YORK -- Another piece of the Mets’ core has left the organization during an offseason that has seen the team’s four longest-tenured players all depart.

The Mets on Monday dealt Jeff McNeil, a frequent subject of trade rumors, plus cash to the A’s for teenage pitching prospect Yordan Rodriguez. That clears a backlog of infielders for the Mets, who acquired Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco earlier this offseason.

McNeil, who will turn 34 on April 8, has hit .284/.351/.428 across his eight MLB seasons, all of them in New York. He peaked with a batting title in 2022, hitting .326 that season, but he has batted just .253/.326/.389 in three years since that time. McNeil hit .243 with 12 homers in 122 games this past season, while splitting time between second base and center field.

While McNeil’s ability to play nearly every position on the diamond has been invaluable to the Mets over the years, their glut of infielders more recently made the idea of a trade seem inevitable. In addition to Semien and Polanco, the Mets have Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña returning, with No. 3 prospect Jett Williams also not far from the Majors. The team also has No. 2 prospect Carson Benge set to receive time in left or center field early this season, while the Mets continue to seek additional outfield help.

The return for McNeil was Rodriguez, a right-hander who posted a 2.93 ERA in eight games (one start) in Rookie ball this year -- his first pro season. The 17-year-old Cuban was not ranked among the A’s top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, and will not initially make the Mets’ Top 30 either. The A’s signed him in January for $400,000 just after the opening of the international signing period.

“I want to thank Jeff for his time and contributions to the organization,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “He was drafted by the team and grew up in our system. I wish Jeff and his family success and good luck going forward. We are excited to bring Yordan into our system. He is a young right-hander with a promising future.”

More than the prospect return, this deal was about a continued reshaping of New York’s roster. Earlier this offseason, the Mets traded their longest-tenured player, Brandon Nimmo, to the Rangers for Semien. They subsequently saw two other roster stalwarts, Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz, leave via free agency. The Mets’ longest-tenured player is now David Peterson, who debuted in 2020, followed by Francisco Lindor, who joined the team in 2021.

In sending McNeil to the A’s, the Mets included $5.75 million in cash to offset part of his $15.75 million salary for 2026, a source said. In addition, the Mets will kick in $2 million for McNeil’s 2027 buyout if the A’s don’t exercise his additional $15.75 million contract option.

The deal comes at a time when the 2025 Mets were scrutinized for their clubhouse culture, with McNeil in the middle of some reported issues. Specifically, the New York Post reported in November that McNeil and Francisco Lindor had engaged in a verbal spat over a defensive play that wasn’t made. Those two also infamously clashed during Lindor’s first season, in 2021, and the Post has reported on additional issues between Lindor and Juan Soto.

“What happens in the clubhouse obviously stays there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said at the Winter Meetings earlier in December. "But [these reports made it sound like] we were fighting with each other pretty much every day. And that’s wrong. Nobody talked about our clubhouse when we got to the second week of June with the best record in baseball. We had the best clubhouse. And then we started losing, and now everybody’s talking about some of the issues.”

Clubhouse problems aside, Stearns began this offseason by hinting at a desire to mix up a roster that has made just one deep playoff run since 2015. It remains to be seen how the Mets will operate the rest of this offseason, with big-ticket outfielders Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger still available, and plenty of starting pitching still available on the free-agent and trade markets. What’s clear is that the Mets will look significantly different in 2026 with Alonso, Nimmo, McNeil and Díaz all gone.

“Even for a player, it’s a little sad seeing those guys go,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said last week. “They’re great players. They’ve been great Mets for a long time. They really connected with the fan base. As people, as players, even in the clubhouse, they’re great people. So it’s always tough to see those guys go. At the same time, those aren’t easy decisions I’m sure.”