It’s MLB trade deadline week and the New York Mets will need to decide which members of their organization are expendable and which are not. Trade rumors are about to get so hot and heavy they’re going to skip the Netflix to get straight to the chill.
Leading up to the finality of major external roster moves is an assessment of what they already have. Who has made themselves more valuable this month and which players are becoming more irrelevant to the mission?
Brett Baty continues to show the Mets he is the most important of their young players
The Mets have shown a lot of faith in Brett Baty this season. Although his year did include an early season demotion, this time he bounced back nicely and has been one of their better hitters in the month of July. His .273/.339/.473 slash line this month comes along with 3 home runs and steady, if not great at times, defense at third base. Second base hasn’t been as smooth, but it’s good to know he won’t butcher the ball.
Baty is in the group of infielders the Mets could conceivably trade before Thursday. It would be a bit of a shocker considering how much this club favors defense.
Since his return to the majors on May 7, Baty is slashing .247/.305./.443 with 10 home runs. In comparison, it’s better than the output of any of the other youngsters by quite a large margin. The power was much-needed for a guy we expected to clobber 20+ home runs easily in a full season. We hadn’t seen it much in his time as a major leaguer. Still very below what Mark Vientos did last year, the runs he saves at third base add to the allure.