What's going to happen with Brett Baty?
Also - the SNY booth celebrated an anniversary over the weekend
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
Sunday marked the 19th anniversary of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling being named the broadcast trio for SNY (This Date in Mets history)
Rumor Mill 💨
The Red Sox plan to use Masataka Yoshida in the outfield in 2025 after originally shopping him this winter (MassLive)
Blue Jays righty Alec Manoah is hoping to make his return from Tommy John Surgery in August (Toronto Star)
Brett Baty’s future is stuck in limbo ✍️
When the Mets made Brett Baty the 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft, the idea was obviously for him to develop into the team’s first long-term answer at the hot corner since David Wright.
The Mets were captivated by Baty’s left-handed power, and saw him as a polished high school hitter who could become a difference maker at the sport’s highest level.
Baty cruised through the Mets minor league system, slashing .283/.382/.507 in 325 career minor league games while contributing 141 extra-base hits and driving in 225 runs.
Unfortunately, he’s yet to be able to transfer that production to the Show.
The 25-year-old has played in 169 games for the Mets over the past three seasons, and his .215/.282/.325 slash line exemplifies the stark difference in his performance.
Baty originally struggled with the grind of being a big leaguer when he got his first full dose in 2023, and at one point admitted to taking pitches off during at-bats in an effort give himself a mental breather during games.
That plus a poor performance sent his trajectory off course, and while the Mets are nowhere near ready to give up on Baty, but his future has become significantly clouded.
After beginning last season as the Mets’ starting third baseman, Baty was soon sent down in favor of Mark Vientos, who almost instantly became a linchpin member of the team’s offense. Vientos and his right-handed power is firmly entrenched in the middle of the Mets line-up moving forward, though it’s still unclear exactly where he’s going to play.
As has been written about extensively on this platform and others, the league wide expectation is that Pete Alonso and the Mets will eventually be able to work out an agreement to keep the Polar Bear in Queens and Vientos at third base.
In the event that does not transpire, the most feasible back-up plan would be shifting Vientos to first base and opening up third base for either Baty to get another opportunity or a pursuit of free-agent Alex Bregman. There’s also the matter of the Mets lacking a clearcut DH at the moment. To me, a universe where Alonso returns would not completely eliminate a role for Baty, as the club could either utilize him at third with Vientos at DH or the other way around.
We also know, however, that the Mets—and their fans—would certainly be interested in a reunion with Jesse Winker, and should both he and Alonso be retained, Baty would be hard pressed to find any playing time.
In that scenario, the Mets should for sure explore dealing their former top prospect, as he has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues and would be more valuable in a deal for relief help than playing the hot corner in Triple-A.
This makes for a very stressful next month or so for Baty, as he could head into spring training either penciled in as the Mets starting third baseman or in a new organization altogether.
We’ve discussed before how the Mets need to find a resolution with Alonso sooner rather than later, and the Baty situation is yet another example of why. Alonso coming back or not coming back has a colossal domino effect on the rest of the team’s winter plans, and spring training is rapidly approaching.
Around the League 🚩
The Nationals are signing former Mets right-handed reliever Jorge Lopez (Rosenthal)
The Braves inked Garrett Cooper to a minor league pact (FanSided)
I'm rooting for Baty to succeed. Hopefully it'll be as a Met
I think he gets traded. He’s already 25. We were saying the same thing about Vientos last offseason though.