NY Mets News: Juan Soto defense, Brett Baty’s role/roll, sinking trade value

It was a later start than expected for the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox on Friday due to the plane issues which kept the visitors in Chicago until only hours before game time. Advantage Mets? Maybe.

But that’s not what the end result told us. A 6-2 loss is how this series begins. Another 0 for 8 performance with RISP and 7 left on base spoiled a promising outing out of Nolan McLean. Multiple roster moves before the game and some significant moments within, there’s a lot to discuss about the Mets.

Juan Soto’s defense forgot the start time again

McLean didn’t give up any earned runs and the game looks much different if Juan Soto didn’t drop the first ball put into action.

Reminiscent of the little league home run George Springer hit against the Mets to leadoff a game versus the Toronto Blue Jays, the usually locked-in Soto has now made two miscues to start games.

The metrics do tell us he has been far better in left field this season with a 0 OAA in comparison to the -12 he had last season as the right fielder for the Mets. Maybe it’s just me paying closer attention because of the “run prevention” focus, but it does feel as if this year’s Mets team has made more dumb errors like this than usual.

The 63 errors made by the Mets is the third-worst in baseball. This doesn’t tell the full scope of their defense, but after making 79 all of last season, they’re well on their way to beating it.

Brett Baty is on a roll in his role, whatever that may be

Brett Baty has now hit in 10-straight and the solo home run was a nice change from all of the singles that have been included throughout. He started at third base in place of Bo Bichette on Friday, Still hitting only .226, his season totals might be tough to salvage but his job won’t be.

Primarily playing second base these days, his success at the plate might not have even been possible if not for the Marcus Semien injury. Where would he have gotten this many chances with the way the rest of the roster is structured?

Baty came into the season pitched as a utility man who’d play a lot of right field and maybe first base. Francisco Lindor’s injury pushed him back to third base for a good part of the year. I’m going to guess he’ll see some more first base opportunities in a situation where Luis Robert Jr. somehow comes back from injury as it could push A.J. Ewing to second base. We know Baty can handle the other spots defensively. First base remains wide open and a few extra in-game reps only adds to his versatility next year or even on the trade market if the Mets look to sell him.

A couple of Mets players are losing their trade value

A.J. Minter is human after all and now has an ERA. He has given up a couple of runs recently, including 2 on Friday night. This shouldn’t do much to damage his trade value as he’s more of a reputation guy than anything else.

The same cannot be said for Cionel Perez. A scrap heap pick up by the Mets, the lefty hurler now possesses a 5.40 ERA as a member of the Mets. His 55.2% ground ball rate can only demand so much in a trade.

Perez was never going to fetch the Mets much of anything at the trade deadline. The Mets probably could have gotten something along the lines of what they did for Josh Walker in 2024. Teams might just want to wait for him to end up as a free agent again. His lack of minor league options hardly makes him worth much.

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