Brett Baty is breaking out, so where does he fit in the NY Mets’ plans?

Arguably, the biggest surprise from the New York Mets this season is infielder Brett Baty. Baty was once ranked as high as the 17th best prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus. However, he amassed just -0.1 fWAR throughout his first 169 major league games from 2022 through 2024 while putting up a meager .607 OPS, .270 wOBA, and 72 wRC+. He also wasn’t an excellent defender at third base, with -9 defensive runs saved and -3 outs above average.

But Baty looks like he’s in the midst of what is his breakout campaign in 2025. His first 119 plate appearances of the season have yielded a .243/.288/.459 triple-slash. He’s already hit six home runs and has a .216 isolated slugging percentage. Although he has a sub-par 5% walk rate and 27.7% K%, he still has a strong overall 110 wRC+. He has been especially good in the month of May, with a .889 OPS, .384 wOBA, and 149 wRC+. 

Another big positive is that his defense has dramatically improved. Baty has +4 DRS and +1 OAA at the hot corner. He’s even grading out as a quality defensive second baseman, with +2 DRS and OAA. Keep in mind that prior to this season, Baty had not played a single Major League inning at the Keystone and played second base as a professional for the first time last season at Triple-A Syracuse.

With Baty breaking out, the question now becomes, what is Baty’s place in the Mets’ long-term plans?

Brett Baty is forcing his way into the Mets' plans

Baty’s primary position is third base, and as stated earlier, he is playing it pretty well right now. However, Mark Vientos is currently entrenched at the hot corner. Vientos also looked like he broke out last year when he hit .266/.322/.516 with a 133 wRC+ in 454 plate appearances. He hit for a ton of power, going yard 27 times and putting up a .249 ISO.

But 2025 hasn’t been nearly as good for Vientos, who is currently slashing .235/.305/.385 with a 98 wRC+. His ISO has fallen by nearly 100 points to only .150. It also doesn’t help that Vientos has a poor -14 DRS and -13 OAA at the hot corner the last two seasons. With how poorly Vientos has done this year, it seems like Baty could replace him at the hot corner for now, and Vientos can move to a part-time role or serve as Pete Alonso insurance for 2026 when he opts out, and if the Mets do not re-sign him.

The other alternative is keeping Baty at second base. Luisangel Acuna has gotten most of the starts at second base for the Mets this season but hasn’t done much with the bat. He is only slashing .260/.313/.309 with an 80 wRC+ in his first 135 trips to the dish this year. Acuna is drawing walks 6.7% of the time with a K% of 19.3%. Despite being lauded as a plus defender, Acuna isn’t even outperforming Baty with the glove at second base, with only +1 DRS and OAA. This would move Acuna into more of a super-utility role. He has started games at both shortstop and third base and logged over 250 innings in center field at Syracuse last season. 

But that may also affect Jeff McNeil’s playing time. McNeil can play many of the same positions that Acuna can. McNeil is also in the midst of a rebound season after turning in less-than-stellar production between 2023 and 2024. He has even begun seeing time in center field, along with both outfield corners and his primary position of second base.

With how Vientos is performing, the best plan for Baty would be to keep him at third base as his primary position. This would also keep McNeil and Acuna in the Mets’ lineup. If this is a true turning-the-corner season for Baty, this should also be his long-term role as the Mets’ third baseman. Even at his worst, he’s a better hot corner defender than Vientos. He’ll need to prove himself again with the bat and could be an option at first base if Alonso signs elsewhere this offseason or at designated hitter.