2 truths about the possibility of the NY Mets trading Brett Baty

Of all the New York Mets following the 2025 season, Brett Baty might find himself in the most uncertain position. After another slow start, he finally hit his stride with a tremendous breakout in the second half, slashing .291/.353/.477 over 55 games with nine home runs and 20 RBI.

Mets fans are divided on what to do with Baty. He has shown remarkable progress over this past season, hinting at the potential he displayed as a minor leaguer, but the sample size has been too small. To declare him a prominent Met of the future would be making the same mistake many of us made with Mark Vientos, and Baty hasn't even reached the peaks of Vientos' 2024 season.

The notion of trading Baty this offseason has circulated the Mets world as of late, and although there's no way for us to know exactly what Steve Cohen and David Stearns are thinking, there are two absolute truths that come with the idea of shipping out the former top prospect.

Trading Baty leaves 3B wide open

The Mets don't exactly have a lot of depth at third. If Baty is gone, that leaves Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio in the depth chart, and it would be a surprise to say the least if the Mets relied on either of them to man the hot corner for the majority of games next season. If the Mets end up trading Baty, they should ensure they’re getting a better third baseman in return; if not, they should look to add one from outside the organization in a separate move.

Of course, the team could do what the fans have been wanting them to do for years by trading for Jose Ramirez, but that still seems like more of a fun idea than a realistic move in Cohen and Stearns' playbook this offseason. Alex Bregman is a free agent; if the Mets were to move Baty, a true veteran leader with a champion's resume would be a more-than-sensible replacement. Additionally, if Pete Alonso were to walk in free agency, Bregman's bat would be a solid consolation prize, albeit lacking in power.

The bottom line is that the Mets should be prepared to upgrade at third base if they were to move Baty elsewhere. You don't trade a guy to get better only to downgrade at his position, especially when that position was a team weakness to begin with.

Trade him if he's the difference between adding a more established player

If the Mets are looking to trade Baty this offseason, he will likely be a significant piece in a trade for an established player. They're not going to trade him for prospects or depth. That being said, if he's the guy who gets in between them and them and a significant trade target, then he should go no matter what.

Amidst the Mets making relevant headlines as of late due to their expectation to heavily pursue Tarik Skubal (if the Detroit Tigers are indeed willing to trade him), Baty has come up as a player the Mets may include in a potential trade for the ace. It should go without saying that if he were the player to come between the Mets and Skubal, he should be on that plane to Detroit faster than you can say "best pitcher in baseball." Skubal is a low-hanging fruit, though, and that logic shouldn't apply to just him.

It's not rocket science; if the Mets are faced with trading for a player who is a guarantee to make them better, then they shouldn't hesitate to include Baty in the deal if he's the deciding factor. There's a lot to like about Baty, and there's a reason why teams will want to trade for him; at the same time, there's a reason why you should be willing to trade a player of relatively high value, especially when he doesn't have much to show for it.