Brett Baty’s time has come.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports the Mets are calling the talented prospect up to the big leagues from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets selected the third baseman/outfielder in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
It was only a matter of time before Baty earned his first shot in the majors. Many believed he could be a September call-up or potential starting option next year. Obviously, the recent news regarding Luis Guillorme sped up the process — the third baseman suffered a left groin strain in Sunday’s win over Philly and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Baty earned a promotion to Triple-A from Double-A Binghamton earlier this month. In six games with Syracuse, the 22-year-old Texas native drove in a run, drew three walks, and slashed .364/.462/.364 with a .825 OPS across 26 plate appearances. He spent four of those games at the hot corner and two in left field.
According to The Post’s Mike Puma, the Mets won’t be calling up Baty until Wednesday, so he won’t be available for Tuesday night’s game in Atlanta. Deven Marrero, who the Mets called up this week, will start at third base Tuesday with Tyler Naquin, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte manning the outfield. Third baseman Eduardo Escobar has been scratched from the lineup due to left side tightness but will be active.
As of right now, the Mets aren’t begging for a regular starting third baseman in Guillorme’s absense — Escobar can fill that role in the interim when healthy. But the club could use an extra glove down the stretch to help minimize the loss of Guillorme’s defensive stardom. Baty could also be an additional option for the designated hitter role should manager Buck Showalter elect to give primary DH Daniel Vogelbach a day off.
The Mets seem pretty equipped in the outfield for right now, with Mark Canha, Nimmo, and Marte all having put together productive seasons. Naquin has also been a solid trade deadline acquisition and is batting .297 thus far in his time with the team (13 games, 38 plate appearances). So Baty isn’t an absolute necessity there.
