00:00ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the A's, the Athletics, are acquiring Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets.
00:07I look at this A's infield moving forward, and I see a perfect fit for Jeff McNeil.
00:15We know that Nick Kurtz is probably a top three first baseman in Major League Baseball, going into next year.
00:20At worst, top five.
00:21You see an all-star shortstop as a rookie in Jacob Wilson.
00:24That feels really good.
00:25And then you see the DH of Brent Rooker.
00:27That outfield looks really sharp with Soderstrom in left.
00:29He was a goal glover.
00:30Lawrence Butler in right.
00:32You've got Denzel Clark, an all-world defender, in center.
00:35And then you look at second and third and say, okay, there's some room for improvement here.
00:39A young Max Muncy.
00:40No, not the Dodger Max Muncy.
00:42The other Max Muncy at third base.
00:44And then you also have Zach Geloff slated to play second base.
00:48Jeff McNeil is far better than Zach Geloff.
00:50Jeff McNeil makes an already fun lineup really darn fun.
00:54And there is compensation cushion coming back with Jeff McNeil to Sacramento.
01:01This is a fun, fun fit in Sactown, dude.
01:05I love it.
01:06You get a veteran in the fold here.
01:08And a guy that, I mean, offensively is going to be rewarded more out there.
01:11And you squeeze out a little bit more slug with Jeff McNeil.
01:14And all of a sudden, that's a pretty fun, you know, offensive skill set there.
01:19He hit 14 home runs last year.
01:20And he can air it out to the pull side a little bit.
01:22And it's going to be rewarded even more in Sacramento there.
01:25So if he could push to 20, which I don't think is crazy, all of a sudden, you've got a really productive player.
01:31We had a 770 OPS this past season.
01:33Like McNeil looked a lot, I think, stronger overall.
01:37What I also like is you can plug him in different spots.
01:39You know, if Denzel Clark is really struggling, McNeil can go out there and fill in in center field.
01:43You can play some second base.
01:45You can move him around.
01:46You can go play a corner if somebody goes down.
01:49That's the other fun part of it.
01:50And I wonder if they have some desire to maybe platoon Clark a little.
01:55Or excuse me, McNeil a little bit with Clark.
01:57Because Clark's a guy that, you know, I know was reverse splits last year.
02:00But I think generally will hit lefties better.
02:03It raises the floor of this team.
02:05It brings in a veteran here.
02:07And it gives you the opportunity to move, you know, McNeil around to be this super utility piece.
02:11And I think that's great because my one concern with the A's is they're still just young and volatile.
02:16And, you know, I think that's some very important stability being added to this team where, you know, I don't love both Gelof and Muncie.
02:25Like I like both, like seeing what maybe one of them can do to take a leap.
02:29But you don't have to count on both of them being regulars now.
02:33And I think that's the most exciting part where one of Gelof or Muncie can win that third base job.
02:39Let them go duke it out.
02:40And you've got second base taken care of.
02:42Dude, one through nine in that lineup.
02:44I feel like there's intrigue there.
02:46You've got Jacob Wilson likely leading off, right?
02:49Wilson, the intrigue is vast.
02:51You've got Kurtz at first.
02:52Langelier is catching.
02:54Soderstrom in left.
02:55Rooker the DH.
02:56Butler in right.
02:57That's six boxes you've already checked.
02:58The seventh is McNeil.
02:59And then you've got Muncie slash Gelof at third, whatever.
03:02Cool with that.
03:03And then Clark, like defensively, again, that's the jam.
03:06So I love what this offense is.
03:09Now it's just a matter of getting pitching.
03:11If Jeff McNeil was a Beatle, would he be George?
03:13Would he be John?
03:14I have no idea.
03:15All I'll tell you is David Stearns has no problem breaking up the Beatles.
03:19This is a new era of New York Met baseball.
03:22I am excited to see how they pivot and how they finish off this offseason.
03:27But you've got to have more success to be Beatles comps, though, right?
03:32Like even people make fun of my Beatles back in the day with the big three.
03:37Maybe.
03:38Yeah.
03:38I'm trying to think which mid-level band member could Jeff McNeil be?
03:42Is there somebody in not even the Who?
03:45Because the Who's an all-time great, too.
03:47I'll think of a band.
03:48But, you know, that's the fun part, though, is I think with the Mets,
03:52it needed to be shaken up.
03:53I think they're clearing.
03:54I don't know how much money they're kicking in, but they're clearing a dollar at least, right?
03:58So, like, yeah, I don't think they're eating the whole thing.
04:01And, you know, we'll see if that's just clearing up even more money to potentially go make that Kyle Tucker push or somebody else yet.
04:09So I'm excited about it.
04:10I think it's better for McNeil, and I think it could give him an opportunity to kind of fill a different type of role over there.
04:17And I think we've talked about it.
04:18That Mets clubhouse needed to be shaken up.
04:20And it clearly is being shaken up.
04:23But what I love, the last thing with McNeil is your primary second baseman.
04:27There's a good chance that Clark just doesn't hit enough.
04:31And if he doesn't, as you search for that center field replacement, at least McNeil can go plug in out there as well.
04:38So he's good insurance for center.
04:41He's good for your everyday second base job.
04:43And now you can have two players compete for that third base job.
04:48And I have a higher degree of confidence of one of them, you know, being able to win that third base spot.
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