Yesterday’s New York Mets rumors revealed the team would trade from their infield surplus. The foursome of Luisangel Acuna, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Mark Vientos have all underperformed to varying degrees. There was never room enough for all of them to get the needed at-bats. All four currently on the MLB roster with at least one sure to leave upon the return of Starling Marte from the IL, the present possibility of one seeing his time come to an end as a member of the Mets organization is very real.
All four have been demoted at some point by David Stearns. A case could be made to trade each of them.
Luisangel Acuna
Acuna’s bat seems to have the least potential to be a regular in the major leagues. He didn’t produce last year in Triple-A and when he was sent down by the Mets a few weeks ago, he didn’t light things on fire. He’s shaping up to be less of a leadoff hitter and more of a number nine guy. A remaining minor league option will allow the Mets to shop him with a little more value.
Brett Baty
You trade Baty because you believe we have seen the best of him and other teams believe that’s good enough. Baty has been the best hitter of any this year. The team’s faith in allowing him to play second base regularly suggests they probably aren’t so eager to trade him just yet. More power and terrific defense have helped to make Baty a useful member of the Mets roster. The only reason to trade him might be if it’s in a deal to acquire an upgrade for his current role.
Ronny Mauricio
Maybe the most well-rounded of the four, he has also been arguably the least impressive at the major league level. He hasn’t had ample playing time in the majors to truly show us what he can or cannot do. Drawing any conclusions about him would be premature at this point. If you trade Mauricio, you do it because other teams value him the most which is a reasonable conclusion. Of the four, he might be the most appealing.
Mark Vientos
Who would have thought after what he did in 2024 there’d be any thought of trading Vientos? A rough season with little signs of turning things around, you trade him now because of his defensive shortcomings. The Mets cannot trust him to ever be a reliable third baseman. You don’t keep him around for the sake of being a first baseman or DH option. Players are easy to acquire for those two spots in the lineup. Despite having the best season of anyone on this list at the major league level, Vientos is the biggest clog on the roster when he isn’t hitting.
Conclusion: Trade Mauricio if the return is as good as we’d like it. Trade Acuna if someone overpays. Wait on Baty. Don’t sell Vientos at a low.