Teams are showing interest in Brett Baty, according to a report by Mike Puma of the New York Post published Friday, but any potential deal will likely have to wait for Juan Soto’s decision.
If the Mets acquire Soto, it may increase the likelihood that they don’t re-sign Pete Alonso and move Mark Vientos to first base, which would open a spot for Baty at third. If the Mets fail to sign Soto, they could become more likely to sign Alonso, meaning Baty may have a harder path to finding playing time in Queens.
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The Mets are not “actively shopping” Baty, according to Puma, but they are listening and may be inclined to deal him for starting pitching.
“(Baty) has exceptional power and there’s a lot of things to like,” a scout told Puma. “He’s got rare power, it’s unique, and at times he’s an inch away with his swing mechanics of being a more consistent, higher batting average, high on-base guy, as well. That is a normal process to go through. He’s at a good age to be figuring out stuff. I don’t want to take the next three or four years, but Baty is still 25, so it depends what the Mets do.”
Baty was the starting third baseman on Opening Day this past season, but was sent down to the minors in May after slashing .229/.306/.327 with four home runs in 171 plate appearances. Vientos went on to take his job and run with it. Baty, a former first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2019 draft, showed promise in Triple-A Syracuse, hitting 16 homers and posting an .854 OPS in 269 PAs.
“Is his progress slower than Vientos?” a scout asked rhetorically, according to Puma. “Yeah, but did Vientos have a lot more at-bats in the minor leagues? Yeah, a ton. (Baty’s) underlying metrics are pretty good, his strike zone awareness and stuff. (The Mets) just have to get him to hit the ball up in the air. He’s totally strong enough and he dominates the strike zone even better than Vientos, but he’s got to get the ball up in the air and elevate it.”
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