The New York Mets found themselves in an all-too-familiar spot: patching holes with hope and upside. This time, it was second base that was up for grabs, thanks to an oblique strain that sidelined veteran Jeff McNeil during spring training.
The temporary fix? Hand the keys to two unproven names—Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña—and hope one of them figures it out.
When Spring Training Lies
Brett Baty fooled us. Again. The 24-year-old painted spring training with promise, flashing the kind of bat speed and confidence that screamed “breakout.”
But now, a few weeks into the season, that bat has gone silent. His OPS? A woeful .238. That’s not just a slump—it’s a whisper in a league that demands a roar.
On the other side is Acuña, the crown jewel of the Max Scherzer trade with Texas. His ceiling is sky-high, but right now he’s struggling to reach the first floor. A .414 OPS from a guy many pegged as a future star is a tough pill to swallow, especially when he already looked overmatched last season in Triple-A, posting a 69 wRC+ over nearly 600 plate appearances. That’s a lot of runway without much lift.
Promise Without Payoff
Acuña and Baty have potential—oodles of it—but this isn’t Little League. Promise doesn’t win games, production does. Plate discipline continues to plague both players.
At times, it’s like watching a chess player who keeps forgetting where the pieces go. The at-bats lack rhythm, the swings feel forced, and the confidence seems to waver pitch to pitch.
Still, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is preaching patience. “If we can have some hits fall for both of those guys, I think hopefully we can get one of them on a roll here,” he told SNY, like a parent hoping the training wheels finally come off.
The Quadruple-A Cloud
Baty, more than Acuña, is fighting off the dreaded “Quadruple-A” label—the guy who mashes in the minors but turns quiet in the big leagues. His .889 OPS in the minors proves he can hit. His .595 OPS in the majors says, not so fast.
He’s still stuck in that baseball purgatory, too good for Triple-A, not quite cutting it in the show.
All Eyes on Development
Right now, second base feels less like a competition and more like a waiting room. The Mets are hoping one of these two gets hot and forces their hand. Until then, it’s a daily tightrope walk with no net. Patience may be a virtue, but in baseball—especially in New York—it’s a gamble.
The clock’s ticking, and second base is still wide open.