NL postseason notes: McNeil, Marte, Edman, Freeman

The Mets could potentially give their lineup a big boost if they advance to the NLCS. Manager Carlos Mendoza revealed this to reporters (including Tim Britton of The Athletic). Jeff McNeil will join the team's taxi squad today, two days after the birth of his second child. The second baseman/corner outfielder hasn't played since Sept. 6, when he broke his right wrist while deflecting a hard attempt at a high-and-inside curveball from the Reds' left-hander Brandon Williamson. It's possible that McNeil will be fit and ready to play in time for the NLCS should the Mets win two more games against the Phillies in the NLDS. However, Mendoza made it clear that it is still too early to provide a definitive timeline for McNeil's return.

McNeil, 32, got off to a poor start in the first three months of the 2024 campaign. Then he turned things around in July, hitting eight home runs and 15 doubles in his final 55 games with an OPS of .859 and a WRC+ of 140. The veteran looked a lot more like the version of himself that won a Silver Slugger and a 2022 Batting title won. Even if he can't quite reach that level of performance, his left-handed hitting should be a valuable addition to a right-handed Mets lineup; he could take over Jose Iglesias at second base or Starling Marte in right field with a right-handed starting pitcher on the mound.

Speaking of Marte, the 35-year-old outfielder needed one Zack Wheeler Fastball off his left forearm yesterday. As Britton pointed out, the pitch hit Marte almost exactly where the Phillies were exchanging the ball Jeff Hoffman knocked him down with a sinker three weeks earlier. Marte remained in the game yesterday, running the bases and taking a few more at-bats, but was taken out of the game in the bottom of the eighth due to a flurry of defensive changes and substitutions late in the game. There's no reason to believe he's suffering from anything more than a minor bruise, but it's possible he could use a day to rest. After Hoffman suspended him in September, Marte had to sit out the next game. He then started the game on the bench before entering the game as a pinch hitter.

More notes from the NL postseason teams…

• Tommy Edman started in midfield for the Dodgers Last night we went 2-4 with one run scored. His most interesting hit, however, was the double play he launched with runners on the corners in the bottom of the fifth. Looking at the right-hander Jeremiah EstradaSwitch-hitting Edman chose to hit from the right side (h/t to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). It was the first time this season that Edman attempted to bat with his right hand against a right-handed pitcher. Until then, he was fighting as a left-hander against the two other right-handers he faced last night: Dylan Stop it And Bryan Hoeing. It was an unconventional but not entirely unreasonable choice for Edman, who hit .181 with a .523 OPS and 51 wRC+ in 117 plate appearances as a left-handed hitter this season. In contrast, he went 14-for-34 (.412) with four home runs, a 1.299 OPS and a 250 wRC+ in a tiny sample of plate appearances as a right-hander. In fact, Edman has hit better as a right winger in every season of his career. But when he occasionally tried hitting with his right hand against right-handed pitchers last season, the results were poor. He posted an OPS of .665 and a WRC+ of 77 in 61 trips to the plate. Even worse, he went 0-for-4 against right-handed pitchers in two games in 2021. It will be worth watching to see if Edman continues this experiment against Estrada or any of the Padres' other right-handers.
• Nursing a sprained right ankle, Freddie FreemanHis status was in question heading into the NLDS. Still, the Dodgers first baseman played all nine innings of Game 1 and went 2-for-5 at the dish. He also stole a base. Freeman later revealed to reporters (including The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal) that he was also dealing with a bone bruise in his ankle. He says the bruise started bothering him about the fourth inning at home last night. Still, the famously durable superstar believes he can do it all again today – with help from the Dodgers' training staff. After the game, manager Dave Roberts joked that Freeman was “certainly medicated” (according to Rosenthal), while Freeman expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff for getting him ready to play despite his serious injuries.