The Mets’ 2023 season is only 13 games old. It’s had some ups and downs already, evidenced by a 7-6 record before starting a West Coast road trip on Friday. New York still has some questions to answer regarding the roster. One that should be answered by now, though, is why isn’t Brett Baty playing third base in the big leagues yet.
We weren’t thrilled with the reasoning behind sending Baty to Triple-A Syracuse to start the year. However, the 23-year-old deserves some credit for heading back to the minors and absolutely raking. Across seven games and 27 plate appearances, Baty is slashing .333/.455/.741 with three home runs, two doubles, and seven RBI.
He was sent to the minors in favor of Eduardo Escobar. The veteran switch-hitter has contributed to the cause in 2023, but not very often. His slow start isn’t a surprise, either. Escobar struggled throughout spring training and even in the World Baseball Classic:
Eduardo Escobar is batting .105/.146/.210 in 12 regular-season games after batting .118/.205/.147 in 12 spring games.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 12, 2023
Manager Buck Showalter is toeing that fine line of giving Escobar playing time so he can get in a groove while also attempting to put together a winning lineup every night. The Mets may not be ready to make a switch at the hot corner just yet, but the team store at Citi Field certainly appears ready:
This is suspicious….. he's not up yet but the rack is full of Batty jerseys… hmm this is up stairs where they make the custom jerseys.. pic.twitter.com/ObxqJGaoAX
— julie megill (aka Mama Megill) (@julsmegill) April 12, 2023
(For anyone who doesn’t know, this is indeed Tylor Megill’s mother.)
Now, we can read into this all we want, but there’s almost definitely no hidden agenda here. Baty is (and has been) among the team’s top prospects during his ascension through the system. He’s on the doorstep of the big leagues, and just about every Mets fan knows exactly who this kid is.
People love prospects and get excited about the future. I wouldn’t be surprised if Baty jerseys are already floating around Citi Field. And once he does get that call to rejoin New York in the big leagues, you know those jerseys will start flying off the rack.
So, no — a promotion for Baty probably isn’t coming any minute (we can still hope for one). However, it looks like the Mets team store is more than ready to handle the rush when it happens.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
