It has been a tumultuous start to New York Mets’ infielder Brett Baty’s career. Despite being one of the Mets’ top prospects in recent years, his MLB career has not lived up to the hype he brought. In 169 total big league games, Baty is hitting .215 with 15 home runs and has struck out 159 times. His up-and-down nature has resulted in him going back and forth from the majors to the minors.
Mets’ Brett Baty could be a utility piece next season
However, with Pete Alonso currently a free agent and potentially playing for a different team next season, Mark Vientos could slide to first base, opening the door for Baty to have an opportunity to prove himself at the big league level once again. Despite him primarily playing third base, David Stearns, Mets’ president of baseball operations, hinted that Baty could see playing time at other positions in 2025.
“Brett did a great job last year of creating some positional versatility for himself. We feel comfortable with him at second base. I think he has the ability to flex into the outfield if we need him to do that,” Stearns said (h/t SNY).
Baty has minimal experience at other positions
Baty has played almost strictly third base in his major league career. The only other position he has played is left field, but he only has one major league inning of experience there, to which he recorded no putouts.
In the minor leagues, the bulk of his games have come at third base, but he has played second base in 27 games and 29 in left field. Though it is not a ton of experience, it is a marginal amount of experience that could help him quickly adapt at the big league level.
The Mets just signed a historic deal to bring in Juan Soto, so it is unlikely that they make another major offseason signing. Therefore, Baty could play an important role next season for a Mets team that suddenly has massive expectations.
