Odds swiftly stacking against Brett Baty being a permanent NY Mets roster fixture

A slow start to the 2025 season, some home-cooking at Citi Field might’ve been exactly what Brett Baty needed to end a 1 for 14 slump to start his 2025 season. A view from the bench on Friday followed up by a 1 for 4 performance on Saturday bettered his numbers slightly but the third baseman turned second baseman hasn’t lit up pitchers anywhere near the rate he regularly has in Triple-A or what we saw in spring training.

Out of necessity, Baty has stuck around with the big league club. The team went into the year hoping this last ditch effort could spark some stardom or permanence on the MLB roster. Nope.

Second to only Mark Vientos on the Mets in strikeouts but at a higher rate with 6 in 18 plate appearances, Baty has been impatient, ineffective, and unreliable. He has already grounded into two double plays versus three last season in 50 games. Not a single run has been driven in by Baty, with an early 0 for 3 with 2 Ks performance in the limited chances he has had with runners in scoring position. It gets worse. The Mets have other options.

Brett Baty is failing to take advantage of what’s likely his last Mets opportunity

The Mets have given Baty plenty of rope. Multiple position changes, namely second base where he has played this year but also first base for a few ground balls prior to signing Pete Alonso, shows the team had at least some faith in him being a useful player for them this year. Ripping baseballs against inferior spring training pitching, like he always seems to do, assured he’d make the Opening Day roster. The Mets had no better alternatives. Plus, when a kid rakes like he did in the spring, you need to reward them.

The return of Jeff McNeil from the IL will force someone out and Baty is trailing Luisangel Acuna at the moment. And even if he did somehow manage to outplay Acuna by the time McNeil is ready to return, Ronny Mauricio is going to make a case. He, with one minor league option remaining, is in as dire of a situation for his Mets future as Baty and Acuna who share the same distinction.

It has become tiresome to see Baty do so well in the spring or in Syracuse only to flop at the major league level. This year is the biggest shame of all because he came into camp looking more mature and it showed in the results on the field. No one has a bad thing to say about him as a person. If baseball wins could be earned through smiles and saying the right thing, Baty would be campaigning for an All-Star bid.

Early returns on Baty are bad and with a repeat of what he has done in the majors in every past opportunity along with how suddenly he dropped off from a hot spring training, we’re right to feel alarmed.