Why Mets are trading away Jeff McNeil after contract, conflict concerns

This one seemed like it was coming.

Jeff McNeil has been traded away from the New York Mets to the formerly Oakland Athletics, in a deal reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan on Monday afternoon.

No one is particularly surprised. The writing had been on the wall.

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Why did the Mets trade Jeff McNeil?

The Mets traded McNeil for two reasons: contract and conflict.

The money wasn't ideal for a player whose contact-heavy approach was declining as he aged.

The Mets are paying most of McNeil's money to the A's, too, according to Passan, but he was still worth getting off the books.

The New York Mets will receive a rookie-ball arm in the deal that sends Jeff McNeil to the A's, sources tell ESPN. The Mets also will be sending cash to help cover McNeil's $15.75 million salary, plus the $2 million buyout on a club option for next year.

McNeil had also reportedly had some conflict with Francisco Lindor, which the New York Post reported on earlier in the offseason.

Clearly, Lindor is more valuable to the Mets at this point than McNeil. So if Lindor wasn't happy with his teammate, it certainly wouldn't be Lindor getting traded away.

The Mets have a lot of younger depth among infield bats, and this will free up some lineup opportunities for them, too.

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