NY Mets hold true to what they always intended with their Brett Baty decision

It didn’t require a formal announcement for New York Mets fans to snoop on the transaction page and find out what wasn’t much of a surprise. Brett Baty will be going back to the minors. Despite a home run off of Zack Wheeler in Wednesday’s game, a .204/.246/.352 slash line to start his season was enough for the Mets to make him the roster casualty upon the return of Jeff McNeil.

Hayden Senger will join him on the ride to Syracuse with Francisco Alvarez also coming off of the IL. Jose Azocar gets to linger a little longer in part because of his own success at the plate this past week, but also because the Mets had a philosophy they’re sticking to when it comes to their young players who’ve yet to make a case to stay on the MLB roster.

The Mets would rather Brett Baty continue to play a lot in the minors than to sit and watch

There isn’t anything left for Baty to accomplish in Triple-A or prove. This was a year about doing it at the MLB level. His awesome spring training earned him an early guaranteed Opening Day roster spot. Almost a full month into the MLB season, Luisangel Acuna has been the easy victor in their ongoing battle despite the team appearing eager to find an alternative.

Baty has had a nice week, but he hasn’t shown enough signs of improvement. The home run off of Wheeler was his first of the year. His defense at second base was shoddy. His approach at the plate hasn’t been anything to write home about. He didn’t draw his first walk until last Friday.

Strikeouts have been plentiful as well. With a 32.8% strikeout rate, he exits the majors with a new career-worst in this department. To his credit, Baty was hitting the ball hard at a hard-hit percentage of 45.7% (a new high) and averaging 90.5 mph in exit velocity, a number second to only his brief 42 plate appearance campaign in 2022.

The lack of contact and in some cases his inability to hit the ball out of the infield helped lead to the lackluster numbers. A ground ball percentage of 45.7% is a new best for him, but he seems to have swapped those weak grounders for more strikeouts.

The Mets never intended to let Acuna and Baty share a roster where one would sit often. With Acuna playing so well and being the far more useful player beyond just the basics, it wasn’t a hard choice to make. Azocar might not be incredibly useful for the Mets, but with speed and the ability to give Brandon Nimmo some time off while also being a center field candidate, it’s a more than understandable call for the Mets to have Baty get reacquainted with Syracuse with a mission to do nothing but take it personally and rise to the occasion if he gets another opportunity. Another stint in left field couldn’t hurt.