New York Mets' Jeff McNeil Could Miss Crucial Series Against Atlanta Braves

New York Mets' Jeff McNeil could miss crucial series against Atlanta Braves.

NEW YORK - Some things are bigger than baseball. 

Mets second baseman/left fielder Jeff McNeil and his wife are expecting the birth of their first child, which appears to be getting very close to the date.

According to manager Buck Showalter, McNeil is likely to be placed on paternity leave after Sunday's game with the Miami Marlins. 

"I'm sure that nine months ago they didn't look at the schedule. I hope not. This is something a lot bigger than baseball," Showalter said prior to Saturday's contest with Miami. 

What this means is that McNeil could miss the Mets' entire series in Atlanta, which will be a crucial three-game set with the second place Braves beginning on Monday, July 11. 

With the Braves breathing down the Mets' neck in the National League East, it will be a significant loss for New York if they are without McNeil for all three games. The Mets' offense has struggled as of late, and McNeil has been one of their best hitters in 2022, slashing .317/.378/.444 with an .822 OPS across 75 games this season. 

The surging Braves have been the hottest team in baseball since the calendar flipped forward to June. This has allowed the defending World Series Champions to close the gap in the East. It was not too long ago that Atlanta trailed the Mets by 10 1/2 games in the division. Now, they are only 2 1/2 games behind, heading into play on Saturday. 

This will be just the second matchup between these two rivals so far in the regular season. Their first meeting was a four-game set from May 2 through May 4, in which each team won two games a piece in an even split. Whichever club comes out on top in their upcoming head-to-head matchup could be in first place by the conclusion of Wednesday's series finale at Truist Park next week. 

The Mets may very well have to go into battle against a heavyweight divisional opponent without one of their best hitters, McNeil, who is set to welcome his first child to the world. 

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