When the Mets decided third baseman Brett Baty should begin the 2023 season in Triple-A, the reasoning given by general manager Billy Eppler didn’t make sense. I mean, we knew it was only because they wanted to give Eduardo Escobar a chance to get himself going at the plate.
That hasn’t happened. And for the most part, the bottom of manager Buck Showalter’s lineup has been a black hole of rally-killing. Enter Baty, who has been absolutely raking for Triple-A Syracuse. SNY’s Andy Martino was the first to report the news:
Sources: The Mets are calling up Brett Baty.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) April 16, 2023
Through 35 plate appearances in the International League, the left-handed hitter is slashing .400/.500/.886 with five homers, two doubles, and 15 RBI. One of his homers came when Eppler was in attendance for a Syracuse game earlier this week:
Brett Baty goes deep again, but this time with Billy Eppler in attendance. I think he’s ready. #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/Tkpbt3V91Q
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) April 13, 2023
He’s also made some nice plays with his glove while manning the hot corner. I suppose those nine extra games he played with Syracuse really put the cherry on top of his development, right?
Showalter said it earlier this year when discussing Francisco Alvarez. The ideal situation is for these guys to get more than enough minor-league seasoning. But when you’re a team like the Mets — built to win right now — anything is on the table. And as much as everyone loves Eduardo Escobar the person, it’s been increasingly obvious that Baty deserves a chance to play every day. Through 49 plate appearances entering Sunday, Escobar is slashing .114/.167/.227 with one homer and six RBI.
New York will finish up its series against the Athletics in Oakland Sunday afternoon. We don’t know exactly when Baty will be available just yet. However, we can imagine he’d meet the Mets (ha!) in Los Angeles and could be activated/available by Monday.
We’ll see when it actually happens. But either way, what’s most important is that it’s happening. FINALLY.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
