5 NY Mets players entering a crucial season in their careers and what they need to do

All five have something to prove whether with the Mets or not.
San Diego Padres v New York Mets
San Diego Padres v New York Mets | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages
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2) Brett Baty 

The Mets had a chance to trade Brett Baty to the Miami Marlins in a package for Edward Cabrera. They Dikembe Mutombo’ed it with a rejection. It showed a lot of faith in Baty (along with A.J. Ewing) while also dismissing what Cabrera could do.

In any case, Baty still has to show the Mets more in 2026. It’s a crucial year for him. For the first time, he has something to lose.

The 2023 season was rough, the 2024 campaign had Baty losing his job, and the 2025 run was an establishing yeah. Which Baty shows up in 2026?

Now a competent fielder which wasn’t always the case early on, what Baty needs to do is show us he’s the guy he was at the end of the year. He had a monster August where he hit .338. Half of his 18 home runs came in the second half and in 52 plate appearances.

Those final months were impressive for Baty as he was a .292/.353/.477 hitter post All-Star Break. Impressive in May as well around a rough April and June, what Baty needs to show off is more consistency from start to finish. He’s allowed a bad stretch for a month. Everyone gets that. We expect it out of Francisco Lindor every year.

This season looks huge for Baty because it could be his last to confirm what the Mets seem to believe: he’s worth starting at third base.

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