Brett Baty is presenting the Mets and manager Buck Showalter with the best type of problem this spring.
The 23-year-old third baseman and the organization’s No. 2 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline is having a monstrous exhibition showing down in Port St. Lucie, FL. Through 12 games, he’s slashing .458/.552/.652 (1.177 OPS) with a home run, five RBI, and two stolen bases.
At this rate, it’ll make it all but impossible for Showalter and the Mets to send him down to Triple-A to start the 2023 season — a place at the start of spring many expected him to go considering the strong end to 2022 had by Eduardo Escobar and how well-liked and respected he is within the organization.
But Baty’s hot spring has drastically changed the conversation, providing a glimpse of what he could potentially do at the major-league level now that he’s healthy following a thumb injury that cut his brief debut stint (.184 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI in 11 games) with the Mets short back in August.
He should be viewed as the third baseman of the future, especially after New York lost out on Carlos Correa back in January, and it appears that playing at the hot corner is the organization’s only role for him. There doesn’t appear to be a plan to create at-bats for him at the pro level by slotting him in at DH or in a corner-outfield spot.
Of course, that creates the question of what is to happen with Escobar. The veteran finally rounded into form after a trying first season in Queens, batting .340 with a 1.042 OPS, eight home runs and 24 RBI in September, and is obviously more seasoned defensively at third base. That is something he’ll always have over Baty throughout the final year of his contract.
That provides an obvious security blanket behind the youngster but more importantly, he adds another dimension to a designated hitter situation that doesn’t inspire the most confidence within a team that has World Series aspirations.
As a switch hitter, he provides more power than the likes of Daniel Vogelbach, Tommy Pham, or Darin Ruf if he is still in the equation. That would still ensure a robust amount of at-bats in 2023 along with days he fills in for Baty.
