As if the NY Mets aren't relying on Brett Baty enough, here's another goal for him

Brett Baty will be one of the most important New York Mets players this year. Whether at first base, right field, or anywhere else he’s going to be depended on as a solution in a variety of ways.

With the announcement of Carson Benge officially making the team out of camp, Baty’s time in right field diminishes except maybe it doesn’t completely disappear. Not only are the Mets planning to give Luis Robert Jr. some regular time off to keep him healthy, they also have to wonder how Benge will handle facing left-handed pitchers regularly.

When the Mets do face a left-handed pitcher, they could always go with Tyrone Taylor in right field. However, his numbers were inferior against southpaws in comparison to Baty last year. As if we’re not already asking Baty to do a lot, one more task is for him to become more balanced against left-handed pitchers.

Brett Baty may be the best answer for the Mets in right field against left-handed pitchers

Baty hit .247/.301/.377 last year versus southpaws. It’s not fantastic but also not horrible. Taylor had his second straight year of reverse splits. He hit .211/.297/.256 against lefties.

Then we have Benge. Last year’s minor league numbers included a .232/.407/.323 slash line against left-handed pitchers. Without a doubt, those numbers would be worse against the superior major league pitching he’ll face.

The Mets shouldn’t nor do they need to hide Benge from lefties all year. To start the year, it might make sense to sit him especially when they have other rotations that’ll make more sense. Mark Vientos gets his starts in against left-handed pitchers at first base or DH with Jorge Polanco doing the opposite. Baty moves into right field where the Mets can keep developing him further as a more versatile player. All subject to change, this will set everyone up for the most success possible.

On any given day, the Mets have potential to have a starter-worthy player on the bench; especially if Vientos hits again. We should see different incarnations of the lineup in the first month or so of the year as they figure out more what different guys are capable of. Mishaps such as poor defense can quickly erase the idea of Baty in right field altogether. The same can apply if he is way better at first base than any of the other options.