The New York Mets placed infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil on the 10-day injured list on Thursday, ending his season because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.
McNeil and manager Buck Showalter said the elbow was injured during a home game Sept. 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. McNeil tried to stretch a single into a double and was thrown out by right fielder Tommy Pham in the fifth inning.
“When I went back and watched the replay, it looks like my hand is up when I’m sliding, and when (Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar) goes to tag me, I think my hand hits his head and jolts it back a little bit,” McNeil said. “The trainers were saying that’s all it takes sometimes for something like that to happen.”
The injury, first reported as a sprain, was diagnosed in an MRI on Wednesday and is not expected to require surgery. McNeil has a platelet-rich plasma injection scheduled for Friday.
The National League batting champion in 2022 with a .326 average, McNeil finished this season batting .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs with a .333 on-base percentage and .378 slugging percentage.
McNeil, 31, has three seasons remaining on a four-year, $50 million contract that he signed in January.
In other moves Thursday, the Mets optioned left-hander Joey Lucchesi to Triple-A Syracuse and recalled right-hander Denyi Reyes and shortstop Danny Mendick from Syracuse.
Lucchesi, 30, started Wednesday and won an 11-2 victory over the Miami Marlins, so he was not slated to pitch again with four games left in the regular season. He is 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA, 17 walks and 32 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings over nine games (all starts).
Reyes, 26, has appeared in eight games (three starts) for the Mets and is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA, seven walks and 15 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.
Mendick, 30, is batting .190 (12-for-63) in 32 games for New York this season.
–Field Level Media