Acorns for Everybody!

[Lefty Specialist]

Jeff McNeil signs a 4-year, $50 million extension, value can go to $63.75 in the 5th option year.



A very good deal in this market.

[MFS62]

Good news!

I feared that jerking him around to different positions might tick him off.

Thanks,

Later

[nymr83]

not a bad deal, you'd hate to have him hit free agency and then be screwed with the choices of letting him go or having to match a longer term deal.

[Frayed Knot]

Fair deal all around I think.



Already 31 y/o (in April) and still two years away from being a FA, it gives him a big payday rather than risking trying to go that route on the cusp of turning 33.



And the club's not locked into a lengthy or huge-bucks deal for a guy with strengths and versatility but also a lower ceiling than true superstars.

[kcmets]

What fun Friday news!!

[A Boy Named Seo]

Pretty interesting deal. Mets buy out two arbitration years keeping McNeil from hitting free agency at age [CROSSOUT]32[/CROSSOUT] 33. Wonder how many nuts he would've squirreled away on the open market if he played the arb game a couple more times? Seems pretty team-friendly (but $50M guaranteed is kinda awesome, too). Yay, team!



Edit: FK got the ages right above

[Benjamin Grimm]

According to this article in the Post, the fifth option year is a club option: https://nypost.com/2023/01/27/mets-jeff-mcneil-agree-to-four-year-50-million-extension/https://nypost.com/2023/01/27/mets-jeff-mcneil-agree-to-four-year-50-million-extension/



So if he's still a good player after four more years, the Mets will have him for a fifth year.



Is this unusual? I seem to think that most options are either player options or mutual options.

[whippoorwill]

Everyone go feed your squirrels 🐿!

[Edgy MD]

I think most options are club options. They also tend to guarantee 10 or 15 cents on the dollar. So if you don't pick up a guy's $20 million dollar salary, you have to pay him to or three million to go away. It gives both sides some security.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Good for Jeff. For a while I was certain that he would have been traded to Kansas City or somethin

[MFS62]

Channeling Fmann, "The news gave me an extension".



Later

[Fman99]

Lock up the squirrel nuts for everybody

[smg58]

At first glance it's team-friendly, especially given the openness of Cohen's wallet. But if McNeil gets plagued by minor injuries like in 2021 he'd have become a non-tender candidate, and worse injuries could leave him with little to nothing. Basically he's buying an insurance policy. And it just might be possible that he likes it here, too.

[Edgy MD]

McNeil had a ten-game hitting streak going at the end of the season, ended only because he was out of the lineup for game 162 but entered in the last two innings as a defensive replacement, but never got to the plate.

[Benjamin Grimm]

So the streak is still going.

Rule 9.23 wrote: What are the rules for an MLB hitting streak? A consecutive-game hitting streak shall not be terminated if all of a batter's plate appearances (one or more) in a game result in a base on balls, hit batsman, defensive interference or obstruction or a sacrifice bunt. The streak shall terminate if the player has a sacrifice fly and no hit.

[Edgy MD]

Well, I don't know if that's a latter-day rule change, but that's news to me!



Hitting streak intact!

[G-Fafif]

The legendary Mike Vail 23-game hitting streak of 1975 encompassed a game with a single plate appearance that resulted in a walk. McNeil's larger stumbling block is the two-season designation, though if he hits in the first 47 games of 2023, I'm willing to tell DiMaggio to kiss off.

[Edgy MD]

McNeil's (active!) hitting streak is the https://www.baseballmusings.com/cgi-bin/CurStreak.pylongest current one in baseball.



Among 13 players tied for 10th in that department are Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso, each having hit in five in a row.



[fimg=525]https://elitesportsny.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/USATSI_18303833-scaled.jpg[/fimg]