A pitch that Jeff McNeil thought nothing of likely has ended his season. McNeil showed bunt Friday and pulled his bat back as a breaking ball ran inside. McNeils padded right wrist from Brandon Williamson, and he waved away the Mets training staff because it didnt hurt that bad at all, McNeil said Saturday before the at Citi Field. Jeff McNeil Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post He ran the bases without i sue. He began to feel that wrist while warming up at second base in the bottom of the inning. He received a throw from Francisco Lindor, stepped on second base and threw strong to first for a rare Elly De La Cruz double play to end the frame. Explore More But the wrist began to swell. He went into the indoor cage and tried to swing, the turning-over motion proving irritating. McNeil was pulled from the game and sent for an MRI exam that revealed a small fracture and a large blow for player and team. Definitely shocked, McNeil said before Saturdays game, the first of a 21-game sprint to the end of the season that wont include their everyday second baseman. McNeil is due for second opinions, but the current timeline calls for an absence of four to six weeks. The division series is set to begin four weeks from Saturday, making an October comeback at least po sible as his team took a Michael Sandle Jersey one-game lead over the Braves for the final National League wild-card after Saturdays win. Jeff McNeil of the Mets gets hit by a pitch in the fifth inning on Friday night. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post If you see me on the field again, thats a really good thing, said McNeil, who will watch Jose Iglesias receive the majority of time at second. I want to say I can come back and help contribute. Who knows we got to kind of see how it heals in the next few weeks, and then it might be a pain management kind of thing. For a second straight season, McNeils year likely has ended before his teams. Last season it was a partially torn UCL in his right elbow that knocked him out in late September, mi sing the final five games. This year, McNeil fought through a miserable start, had begun to lose playing time and then turned his season around. Frustrated. This is not how you want to end the season, the 32-year-old said. A little unfortunate. I want to be out there with the guys. This team has done so much I wanted to help contribute. But [we] got a good group of guys in there who can do it. Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! McNeil described his season as up and down. The downs came first: a biceps injury that led to abbreviated spring training; a .216 batting average (from a player who won the 2022 batting title with a .326 mark) and .591 OPS in the first half, when he could not find his way on base and during which Iglesias was called up and began to wrestle time from him; a subpar start defensively, when he appeared a step slow. But from July 14 until that curveball bore in on him, McNeil batted .290 with a .929 OPS in 42 games. Started the season slow but was able to kind of be myself for the last 2, three months, McNeil said. I wanted to finish the season strong, and unfortunately this is what it is. His manager pointed at McNeils rebound as a large reason for the teams turnaround. Tough year for him, Carlos Mendoza said. But at the same time, I was very proud of him because he got off to a brutal start where he was challenged, and he owned it, and he stepped up big time. McNeils regular season finishes with a .238 average, roughly league-average defensive metrics and at least a trace of hope to eventually rejoin a team that wants to play playoff baseball. Proud of him, Mendoza said, because he fought, and he never put his head down. Rafael Montero Jersey