The Mack Report - Jeff McNeil, 2023 Pen, Unionizing Minors, Traded For Themseles

Jeff McNeil

 

LFGM120 @lfgmetsny120 

Jeff McNeil Appreciation Post 

Fielding (2B)

E: 1 | OAA: 7                            

fielding %: .997 

Batting

AVG .321 | AVG with risp .339

OPS .833 | SLG .460 | OBP .373

H 132 | 2B 34 

Mack - I love the TBS announcer that said that Jeff likes to scan what the defensive setup is before getting into the box and then directs his swing to holes in the infield. 

A true hitting genius. 

These are the kind of players I wished never got old. I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff when he played in Savannah and there couldn’t have been a more respectful player in baseball. Treating press nice is rare. Treating old guy press in small markets is, well… 

What’s always missed here is how hard he has worked on his second base defense. He was a total liability there. Sort of like Daniel Murphy v.2.0. But he is now a match for his middle infield teammates at that position. 

Just love this guy.

 

2023 Pen 

Pro Baseball Radar @BaseballRadar 

I don't trust Eppler to sign and trade for an entire replacement bullpen for '23. The relief market is the worst place to shop due to its year-to-year volatility and likelihood of overpayment. 

This is where letting go of the Sewald's & Crismatt's & Szapucki's catches up to you. 

Mack - I guess we can go back and forth on who is good and who is bad here, but, for the love of me, I can’t see a place for that Joely guy here. 

The choices Buck is making after a day off against the best team in baseball are very puzzling. Sort of a lot like our past manager.

 

Unionizing Minors 

The Major League Baseball Players Association is pushing to unionize minor leaguers. 

MiLB players have been sent cards to vote on designating the MLBPA as their collective bargaining representative. 

How do you feel about this? 

 

Traded for themselves 

There are very few trades in baseball that everyone can agree are objectively equal. But there are four players in MLB history that got an exactly even return: themselves. Each of these four players were traded for a player to be named later, which would ultimately turn out to be… themselves. 

Catcher Harry Chiti was the first player in baseball history to be traded for himself. Cleveland sent him to the Mets for a player to be named later on April 25, 1962, only to get him back on June 15 as that player. 

Similarly, in ’80, the Yankees traded catcher Brad Gulden to the Mariners, and Gulden was returned to New York a year later. 

Pitcher Dickie Noles was sent from the Cubs to the Tigers for just 33 days in ’87 before being returned to Chicago. 

The Tigers were again involved in a similar swap in 2005, when they received infielder John MacDonald from the Blue Jays in July, only to give him back to Toronto that November.