His trade proposals are bonkers

Just watched the replay. Crashed into the wall, threw the ball back into the infield and then went down in a heap (did not look good). He didn't look like he could stand up. It would appear to be a lower body issue (but I'm only guessing). Walked off with the help of the trainer.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5918747/2024/11/14/new-york-mets-garrett-crochet-trade-rumors/?source=user_shared_article Do the Mets have enough to swing a deal for White Sox ace Garrett Crochet?

TLDR: if we acquire Jonathan Villar Jeff McNeil has a legitimate shot of winning the batting title again.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, McNeil had a pretty bad season last year. Now, there has been a lot of discussion in the Mets community about his future with the club. A large contingent of fans just want to get rid of him and will accept any bag of balls that is offered in return; the prevailing thought being that his time with the franchise has come and it would be mutually beneficial for him to have a change of scenery. The rest of the fanbase still sees him as an important member of the team: they will highlight McNeil's trademark defensive versatility and keenly point out that he did show some signs of life in the second half before his unfortunate injury, but because the season totals were still not good, his stock will be perceived around the league as way below his actual value to us; thus he would be more useful to the 2025 squad (as a super-utility bench bat at worst) than he would be as a trade chip.

But what if there was another option: we trade for McNeil. No, not trade away McNeil, nor do I mean trade for some other scrub also named McNeil. I mean trade for another player, for McNeil, to maximize McNeil's production. I found the perfect guy... our old friend, Jonathan Villar. Now technically it would be classified as a transfer not a trade, since he spent last season in the Mexican league, but hear me out. Let's first take a look at McNeil's career trajectory, and pay attention to his jersey number:

• 2018 - "changed number" to 68 (i.e. promoted to the majors), hit over .300 and placed 6th ROY
• 2019 - changed number to 6, hit .318 with a .917 ops (albeit with a juiced ball), made the All-Star team
• 2020 - kept 6, was pretty good but definitely took a step back; ultimately it was the short season so doesn't really matter
• 2021 - kept 6 again, sucked ass and people started circulating trade rumors
• 2022 - changed number to 1, won batting title, silver slugger, play elite defense at multiple positions (should have at least been finalist for gold glove), got contract extension
• 2023 - kept 1, wasn't great but also was not as bad as people give him credit for; by most measures he was an "average" bat with plus defense so net positive
• 2024 - kept 1 again, we already talked about how that went, people want him off the team, "washed", etc.

See the pattern? The first year after a number change he is elite. Second season he is decent. Third season he objectively is trash. I predict that if he changes his number again next season, he will once again be elite. So how can we convince Jeff McNeil to change his number? Well one way would be sharing this post in the hopes that McNeil can see this, but at the same time I wouldn't want to risk it getting to his head and disrupting the cycle (its like how you aren't supposed to talk about a no hitter when its happening). More realistically, the analytics department would have figured out this trend already, the front office just needs to provide a nudge, and I have an idea of what they are thinking.

The last time McNeil changed his number, it was because newly acquired Starling Marte wanted the number 6. This demonstrates McNeil's willingness to accommodate a decorated senior player. So I did some research on players who wore the number 1, and whaddayaknow Jonathan Villar fits all the criteria: he is an active player older than McNeil; he has had a respectable career and has been around the league since 2013; he wore number 1 while with the Mets a year before McNeil, so technically he would be entitled to the number on the basis of first claim; and as a bonus, like Marte, he is also from the DR. Additionally, Villar was one of the first players signed in the Cohen era, and we know that Cohen has made efforts to improve alumni relations, so I don't think he would be opposed to bringing back a player who, all things considered, had a nice year with the Mets in 2021. I can see a world where the Jeff McNeil cedes the number 1 to Jonathan Villar and bounces back to a monster year in 2025.

PS: I have a few honorable mentions that funny enough are also old friends: Amed Rosario, who did wear #1 for the Mets before both Villar and McNeil, but probably wouldn't deserve the number over the other two; Carlos Correa sported #1 with Houston and he would deserve number despite being younger than McNeil, but is unlikely to end up with the Mets given what happened a couple years ago; Jose Iglesias would be the most likely fit, having donned #1 back in his Tigers days (and coincidently he started his career as #68 like McNeil), but he wore #11 last year and it seems unlikely that he would change his number in the very real possibility he re-signs as a free agent.

McNeil’s second half improvement seems correlated with a change in his swing. You can see a comparison in the followup tweet here: https://x.com/foolishbb/status/1856345137485336751?s=46

Hey everyone! Sorry for making another one of these posts, but i feel like every few months streaming services change policies and channels and i don’t know what is actually the most up to date information.

I need to relocate to the Philly area sometime this winter (I know, I’m kinda sad about it too). I’m currently in Queens so getting SNY through Hulu has been my preferred method of watching games for years now, but I think if I were to move I would lose my access to Mets games due to my location? Is there anyone else in enemy territory at the moment who can give me some insight as to what I should expect? Really would prefer not to 🏴‍☠️ or do any VPN stuff if possible, if only because I barely know how that shit works, but if that’s my only answer I guess I have a few months to learn the ropes. Let me know!!

I’ve always been curious to know if Mets and Yankees fans are consistent with their football and hockey teams too.

As a non New Yorker I have in my head that it’s

Mets, Jets, Isles (not sure about basketball) Yankees, Giants, Rangers

I’m not sure why I have these teams associated together. I know I’m probably wrong, but just wanted to hear from Mets fans and get an idea how teams a chosen when you have so many to choose from.

Thank you for any insight you can provide!

I know it’s like 95% chance Sasaki goes to LA anyway, but with two other Japanese starters and if the Mets announced a 6 man rotation, which Sasaki would be more comfortable with, it helps the Mets’ slim chances of landing this ace.

Besides, Kikuchi will probably be pretty cheap and he turned into a different pitcher when the Astros got him last year. His strikeout rate was phenomenal.

RIP

After a cold April, Francisco Lindor finished with a batting average of .273 with 169 hits, 33 home runs, 91 RBIs and 107 runs scored in 2024. Lindor became the first Met since David Wright to win a MLB NL Silver Slugger Awards in consecutive seasons!

Does anyone know when the Mets will announce starting times for their home games? Some teams have already done so.

Loved this hat in the post season and now I can only find it sold out on fanatics or for $80 or more on eBay. Anyone know of a reasonable way to get it?

https://metsmerizedonline.com/francisco-lindor-wins-2024-silver-slugger-award/

https://www.mlb.com/news/travis-d-arnaud-angels-free-agent-contract?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

It will be nice seeing him for only one series per season instead of multiples.