Jeff McNeil’s terrific season for the Mets ended in unfortunate fashion during Wednesday’s 10-3 win over the Marlins, when he suffered a fractured right wrist after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth.
McNeil was replaced by Juan Lagares.
After being hit by a Josh Smith fastball, McNeil was clearly in pain and bent over on his way to first base before being removed. X-rays revealed a distal ulnar fracture in the wrist, the team announced.
“He’s a blue-collar guy,’’ Pete Alonso said. “He’s gonna come back and be better than ever.’’
In addition to becoming an All-Star in his first full season in the majors, McNeil finished with 23 homers in 133 games and established himself as a viable option at second base, third base and the corner outfield spots. And he added his 38th double of the season before exiting.
Jed Lowrie has had just seven plate appearances this season, hardly what he or the Mets expected when he signed a two-year, $20 million deal last offseason.
“There’s nothing else I could have done,’’ Lowrie said of the possibility of being more productive. “I worked my ass off just to get in this position, to play any meaningful games down the stretch. I’m doing whatever I can to be a part of the group.”
Lowrie suffered a sprained capsule in his left knee early in spring training and spent most of the season rehabbing. A minor league rehab assignment in May was cut short by a strained left hamstring and a right calf injury also sidelined him.
“I didn’t get any spring training and I haven’t had many at-bats all year,’’ Lowrie said before the Mets’ win. “Rehab games aren’t the same. I’m focused on what I can do right now.’’
It certainly seems like 2019 was a waste for the infielder, whose absence was made up for in part by the continued production from McNeil, as well as J.D. Davis and — at times — Robinson Cano.
“There are lessons from any experience,’’ Lowrie said. “There’s been a lot of perseverance, a lot of fighting. I’m still here after tough year.”
He’s hoping to get fully healthy in the offseason.
“It’s been a long year,’’ Lowrie said. “I don’t think anyone is 100 percent at this point. I’ve had some setbacks to deal with that were unforeseen. All you can ask for is to be healthy.’’
Mickey Callaway went with defense with Jacob deGrom on the mound Wednesday, which is why Todd Frazier was at third base and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield — with Davis on the bench, despite his good hitting numbers at Citi Field.
“It’s tough,’’ Callaway said of sitting Davis. “It’s tough not to have Nimmo in there, either. And the way Frazier has been performing the last month — 15 days — makes it hard for him not to be in there. We have to balance what we are going for that night.”
Dom Smith remained on the IL with a stress fracture in his left foot and Callaway didn’t sound especially optimistic about him playing much — even if he’s activated Friday.
“At some point, we’ll make a final decision, but we want to see how he comes out of this [workout],’’ Callaway said of Smith, who hasn’t appeared in a game since July 26. “You could consider activating him at that time. … The one thing is he hasn’t played in a game in a long time. He hasn’t fielded live balls off the bat.”
Michael Conforto entered the game 5-for-9 with three homers in his previous games after going just 1-for-25 in the nine games prior to that stretch. The red-hot Conforto went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday night.
Callaway said he’ll take Conforto’s ups and downs if it ends with the production he gives to the lineup.
“He puts up great years,’’ Callaway said. “Everybody gets to their numbers in different ways. The bottom line is, he produces and makes us a better team.’’