Mets 2B Jeff McNeil suffers a broken wrist and will miss the rest of the regular season

The New York Mets are the strongest team in Major League Baseball, winning eight games in a row and 17 of their last 22 games. However, they lost a key player in their lineup on Friday night when second baseman Jeff McNeil was hit in the right wrist by a pitch.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds that McNeil suffered a fracture and will miss the rest of the regular season. He is projected to be out four to six weeks, which could keep him out well into the postseason if the Mets make it that far.

“Not good, the MRI this morning showed a broken wrist, he's probably out for the year,” Mendoza said when asked about McNeil's status. “The way he's played the last two months up to this point, he was a big reason, one of the reasons we got to this position.”

Overall, the 32-year-old McNeil has had a down year, hitting a career-low .238 with a .692 OPS. But since the All-Star break, the seven-year veteran is hitting .289 with a .923 OPS, 12 doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBI. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Mets have played much better since the summer break, posting a 28-18 record.

McNeil's injury occurred in the fifth inning of Friday's 6-4 win over the Reds. He turned to bunt and a pitch deep inside from reliever Brandon Williamson struck him on the wrist.

Surprisingly, McNeil initially stayed in the game and played the field. He made a double play to throw out Reds slugger Elly De La Cruz in the sixth inning. But when he returned to the field in the seventh inning, Harrison Bader replaced him as a pinch hitter. McNeil told reporters afterward that he didn't think he was injured until he took a few swings in the batting cage.

“I really didn't think anything of it, it was a breaking ball: 95 percent sure it hit the protection I was wearing,” McNeil said, via MLB.com. “It didn't hurt that much when I was running the bases, but then I started to feel it a little bit when I was warming up the next inning and just threw the ball to first base.”

Experienced Jose Iglesias is expected to replace McNeil at second base as the Mets aim for a playoff berth. Prospect Luisangel Acuña could also be called up. At the moment, New York is tied with the Atlanta Braves 77-64 for the third wild card spot in the National League. But the Braves have the tiebreaker.