On Monday, right before the Christmas holiday, the New York Mets traded veteran Jeff McNeil to the Athletics in what was purely a salary dump. After rumors of clubhouse conflict with Francisco Lindor, McNeil was sent packing as the Mets further tear down their roster of legacy players. And for the Yankees? It could help them.
Whatever Mets fans' emotional attachment was to McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz, that group of players failed to win, outside of an outlier NLCS run in 2024. What David Stearns is doing is transformative and constructive, contrary to popular belief.