Brett

Baty

The timeline for recovery is currently 4-6 weeks. Baty was sent down to Triple-A earlier this summer, but it’s now very unlikely that the 24-year-old plays for the Mets again until 2025.

Baty excelled initially after his demotion to Triple-A, but his last 34 games have seen him hit just .182/.315/.339 in 146 plate appearances. He’ll need to turn it around if he wants to be part of the Mets bench after rosters expand.

The 24-year-old now has a Triple-A OPS of .963 to go along with a .289 batting average. The Mets have started using him more at second base, but Jose Iglesias has also been on fire there at the MLB level, which means that Baty remains blocked at multiple positions. The offensive improvement has been clear, but Baty may need a trade or an injury to open up playing time.

Baty is now 23-for-65 (.354 batting average) with a 1.188 OPS and eight home runs since being demoted on May 31. While Mark Vientos has emerged as the team’s top third baseman, Baty has been taking reps at second base and could prove a viable pivot option for the Mets if Jeff McNeil continues to struggle. Nothing is imminent and Baty has hit Triple-A pitching well before, but if he can showcase solid defense at second base, he could become a real option.

Baty is hitting .333/.388/.700 with more homers (six to four), more doubles (four to three) and more RBI (18 to 16) in 15 games for Syracuse than he had in 50 games in the majors. The Mets could have recalled him yesterday in place of Starling Marte, but with Mark Vientos having earned regular playing time, they decided against it. A Pete Alonso or J.D. Martinez trade next month could create another opportunity for Baty.

Baty went deep for the second consecutive contest and is up to five round-trippers in just 11 games since June 1. The 24-year-old former top prospect is batting .370 (17-for-46). It feels like only a matter of time before he gets another look in the big leagues for New York.

Baty has torn the cover off the ball since a late-May demotion to the minors, batting an absurd .519 (14-for-27) with three homers and 10 RBI in six games for Triple-A Syracuse. The 24-year-old former top prospect seems to be re-gaining some much-needed confidence at the dish and appears to be also adding some defensive versatility to his toolkit by spending some time at second base recently. It’s unclear when Baty will get another shot in New York, but he’s showed some encouraging signs over the last few weeks away from the spotlight in the upper minors.

Baty took some reps as a middle infielder last month after the move to release Joey Wendle left him as the closest thing the Mets had to a backup at second and short. Since Baty joined the Mets on their London trip, he’s played in just four minor league games since getting demoted May 31, though he’s gone 8-for-19 with three homers. It seems quite unlikely that the Mets will ever want to make the switch from Jeff McNeil to Baty at second base, but it’d be nice if Baty could open up the possibility.

Baty has caught fire since last month’s demotion back to the minors, batting .400 (6-for-15) with three homers and six RBI in four contests for Triple-A Buffalo. The 24-year-old former top prospect is going to get some extended runway to turn things around out of the spotlight before he returns to New York. Hopefully the extra seasoning in the upper minors enables him to regain his confidence at the dish.

Baty will man the hot corner while he’s the 27th player on the roster for the series against Philadelphia in London. Mark Vientos will begin Sunday’s game on the bench.