Billy McKinney landed in New York around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and was set to be in the Mets’ lineup — playing right field and batting cleanup for the first time in his MLB career — less than nine hours later.
After getting calls from Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns and Mets acting general manager Zack Scott late on Tuesday night, letting him know he had been traded from Milwaukee to New York, McKinney jumped on a flight from his home in Dallas at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
A rainout Wednesday night gave McKinney a chance to breathe and get his bearings in Queens, but with the injury-plagued Mets needing all the help they can get, the 26-year-old outfielder figures to get an extended opportunity to play in the coming weeks.
“I know the goal here is to win and that is the absolute first here, so I’m excited,” McKinney said before Wednesday’s game was postponed. “I try not to really think about where I’m at in the lineup, I just try to get in the lineup and do what I can whenever I’m in there. The fact that they have me batting fourth tonight, it’s an honor but now it’s time to go out there and play our game and win. That’s the goal.”
The Mets landed McKinney, who was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Saturday, in exchange for minor league pitcher Pedro Quintana. The trade became a need after an onslaught of injuries to Mets outfielders Brandon Nimmo (index finger bone bruise), Albert Almora Jr. (shoulder contusion), Michael Conforto (hamstring strain) and Kevin Pillar (nasal fractures). Johneshwy Fargas (AC joint sprain) joined that list Wednesday, becoming the 17th Met on the IL.
Manager Luis Rojas, who slotted the left-handed hitting McKinney into the cleanup spot for Dominic Smith (knee contusion), said he is comfortable playing McKinney in all three outfield positions. McKinney hasn’t played an inning of center field in his MLB career, but played 1,119 innings there as a minor leaguer.
“When there’s teams with injuries like we have unfortunately right now, it’s all hands on deck,” said McKinney, who has also played 53 ²/₃ MLB innings at first base.
Rojas said he’s familiar with McKinney from when he was coming up through the minor leagues — which included a stint in the Yankees’ system.
“He’s a good player, good outfielder, gives good at-bats,” Rojas said. “He can give us something that we don’t have right now from a defensive standpoint and also from a lineup presence.”
Before he was designated for assignment on Saturday, he was hitting .207 with three home runs and a 69 OPS-plus in 40 games. His most extended MLB opportunity came in 2019, when he hit .215 with 12 home runs and an 83 OPS-plus in 84 games with the Blue Jays.
McKinney is no stranger to trades. After being drafted by the A’s in 2013, he went to the Cubs in 2014 as part of the Jeff Samardzija trade, to the Yankees in 2016 (with Gleyber Torres, among others) as part of the Aroldis Chapman trade, and then to the Blue Jays in 2018 (with his new Mets teammate, Brandon Drury) as part of the J.A. Happ trade.
“I’m really glad to be here now with a new opportunity and everybody has been great to me so far today,” McKinney said. “It seems like it’s a great atmosphere and just a great clubhouse. I’m excited to come here and play and try to do everything I can to help the team win any way, any how.”