Brett Baty’s Hard Work Defensively Showing Positive Results
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
If you go to the practice fields for defensive drills at the Mets complex in Port St. Lucie this spring, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Mets prospect Brett Baty working with a myriad of Mets coaches. Every morning I was in Port St. Lucie, Baty was working on his defense with some combination of Joey Cora, Eric Chavez, or Reid Brignac as he hopes to crack the Mets’ Opening Day roster.
Baty, 23, showed growing pains defensively in his very brief time in the big leagues last season before a torn UCL in his right thumb essentially ended his 2022 season. It was an impressive campaign that started with Baty posting a .950 OPS in 89 games for Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and then a quick week with Triple-A Syracuse before making his major league debut on August 17–a debut he will remember with a home run in his first plate appearance.
Bench coach Eric Chavez has been working a lot during BP at third with Brett Baty. pic.twitter.com/VBNaXllpeE
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 13, 2023
There were questions surrounding Baty’s defense heading into the 2023 season from his small sample size in the majors and a few scouts feeling that he might not be big-league ready. Baty knew he needed to fine-tune his defense and sought out former two-time Gold Glover Troy Tulowitzki in the offseason to work with.
“Athleticism sticks out for how big of a kid he is,” Tulowitzki said. “That’s the first thing you see and you go, ‘OK, well, he’s a corner guy, let’s see what kind of athleticism he has.’ And that’s off the charts.”
Brett Baty working with Joey Cora in the back fields. pic.twitter.com/Qpig10ch6I
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 11, 2023
When the Mets couldn’t ultimately come to an agreement with star infielder Carlos Correa, that left the Mets with veteran Eduardo Escobar and Baty to battle to start on Opening Day for the Mets at third base.
Escobar, 34, had an uneven first season with the Mets at the plate and played below-average defense at third base. When the schedule hit September last year, Escboar was hitting an underwhelming .218/.269/.383. The switch-hitter kicked things into gear on the way to winning NL Player of the Month in September with eight home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .982 OPS.
Overall, with a huge boost from the last month, Escobar had a 106 wRC+ in 136 games. On the defensive side, Escobar had -11 defensive runs saved and -7 outs above average at third base. It was another slide in his defensive metrics that started in 2021 when he had -3 defensive runs saved and -3 outs above average.
Before leaving camp for the World Baseball Classic, Escobar was only 2-for-16 with zero extra-base hits in spring play. Escobar also played left field for the first time since 2017 at the behest of Team Venezuela, per Mets’ manager Buck Showalter. Venezuela was perfect in pool play with a 4-0 record, with Escobar going 1-for-9 with a home run. He played two games solely at third base. They have advanced to play in the quarterfinals on Saturday against Team USA.
Escobar being able to play some left field would give him more versatility as a bench player if the Mets decided that Baty was going to play a majority of the time at third base. And one of the reasons they might decide that is the improved defense of Baty at third base.
Brett Baty and Mark Vientos combine for a great play.
Baty has looked sharp at third base in recent days.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 14, 2023
The hard work for Baty from working with Tulowitzki and the bench coaching staff has paid off with him making a number of highlight-caliber pays at third base in the last couple of weeks. On Tuesday, Baty made a great play going to his left that included a tough throw to get the runner at first base. The day before, Baty made another impressive play, this time going to his right that ended with a strong throw from deep at third base.
Buck has seen the improvements that Baty and Mark Vientos (mostly playing first base) have shown during spring as both get closer to being big-league-ready. “I’m so proud of him and Mark, they’ve worked so hard at it with Joey (Cora). And we’ve got a great luxury here with Eric Chavez, he’s a pretty good third baseman and Eric goes out there a lot with them carrying out the work of Miguel Cairo and the folks from last year. That’s been one of the highlights of camp, is watching these guys really improve with their footwork,” Buck said.
Baty has certainly looked more comfortable over the last couple of weeks as Buck noted with his footwork moving to his left and right which was certainly a defensive attribute that needed refining going into this season.
The improved defense of Baty and the power from Ronny Mauricio this spring are going to force the Mets to make decisions sooner rather than later. Mauricio has been mostly a shortstop in his career, but did play some third in winter ball, giving the Mets another option at the position. Making it an even tougher decision for the Mets on what to do at third base in 2023.
Brett Baty with the DEEP throw from third! pic.twitter.com/7l7lJuEVdo
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 8, 2023
Escobar is the veteran that’s absolutely terrific in the clubhouse, though his defense is now a liability and his offense was below average for most of the 2022 season. If and when the Mets move Mauricio, I believe it should probably be to a corner outfield spot where their depth is non-existent in the upper minors and profiles fine. Baty is seen by many as the Mets third baseman of the future and I believe it’s time for the franchise to move in that direction on Opening Day.
Putting Baty as the Opening Day starter at third base alleviates the ongoing questions for him and Escobar throughout the season, and I believe it improves the team at multiple positions. First off, Baty, for me, is the better overall option at third base right given his honed defensive skills and his already strong offensive skill set. Second, Baty at third base moves Escobar into the Darin Ruf utility/DH vs lefties role which pushes the latter of the roster entirely after his continued struggles. Escobar has experience at every position in his career compared to Ruf being mostly a 1B/DH option at this point. This allows the Mets to use one of the strengths of Escobar –.782 OPS vs left-hander pitchers– to hopefully upgrade their DH spot vs lefties.
If the Mets are going to fulfill their goal of winning the World Series in 2023 they must get contributions from their young players and that starts with Baty at third base.
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