Brett

Baty

The former top prospect is without a clear path to the big leagues now that Mark Vientos has cemented himself as the team’s regular third baseman, so it’s not surprising to hear that the Mets would be fielding calls on Baty. Of course, things could change if the Mets are unable to re-sign Pete Alonso and wind up shifting Vientos over to first base. While they aren’t actively looking to move him, don’t be surprised if the Mets find a deal to their liking and the 25-year-old infielder is shipped elsewhere before the 2025 campaign begins.

Stearns noted that the team was impressed with how quickly Baty picked up second base. The 24-year-old has been a significant bust thus far in the majors, and his chance of being the team’s everyday third baseman has been put away for the foreseeable future thanks in large part to the success of Mark Vientos. Baty is going to have to show versatility to be a part of the roster in 2025.

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.