3 thoughts about the bold NY Mets-Mariners trade prediction involving Brett Baty

ESPN asked several of their staff writers to come up with some bold predictions and the New York Mets got a mention. Brett Baty heads to the Seattle Mariners in a trade for a pair of pitchers. Big league reliever Matt Brash and pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje go to the Mets.

Realistic? Brash is quickly becoming an outstanding high-leverage bullpen arm while Baty is still trying to cement his place on a big league roster. One-for-one, it’s not such a bad swap for either ball club. The Mariners get their third baseman. The Mets send out a player with a questionable role. Both teams win. To offset any doubt, the Mets also get a unique ambidextrous prospect whose first trip into the 2022 draft had David Stearns drafting him in the 18th round. He didn’t sign and was later taken by the Mariners in the first round in 2024.

The Mariners and Mets seem to be frequent trade partners from a speculative standpoint. You haven’t lived if you’ve never put together a trade involving Jeff McNeil to Seattle or sends Luis Castillo to New York. What about this brand new trade? Let’s look a little deeper.

Three thoughts about this trade proposal

1) It seems like Brett Baty is everyone’s Eugenio Suarez backup plan

Eugenio Suarez is one of the best available free agent hitters who has yet to sign. His power is undeniable. However, a weakened bat once he finished the year with the Mariners might have teams selling rather than buying on his offensive potential. He can play third base and isn’t an absolute mess there. This could very well be a situation where Suarez either needs to sign or the Mets need to trade Baty before the other one happens. It’s a good thing for the Mets. Baty can be a backup plan for some teams who’ll then need to overpay.

2) Does the Mets roster even have space for Matt Brash?

There’s still a surplus of starters on the Mets roster. One option is always to move a pitcher like David Peterson to the bullpen. However, with the addition of Tobias Myers in the trade alongside Freddy Peralta, it feels as if he’ll get a longman spot in the bullpen that could have maybe gone to Peterson instead. Brash would be a second late-inning option who throws from the right side alongside Luke Weaver. While fellow righty Luis Garcia is probably more of a middle inning guy and Huascar Brazoban is length/optional middle reliever type, Brash would fill a whole different kind of need. The answer to this question is an emphatic “yes!” even with how crowded it already is.

3) The Mets will need to make one more significant move if they trade Brett Baty

Brett Baty has become a legitimate left field option for the Mets, as crazy as it may sound. Trading him away will require the Mets to add another outfielder and it should be something of some significance. How you doin’ Austin Hays? Subtract Baty and Ronny Mauricio suddenly becomes your roving infielder. Mark Vientos and Jorge Polanco share first base duties with Ryan Clifford as a potential option further down the line in the 2026 season.

Baty is following the same exact path this offseason as Luisangel Acuna and Jeff McNeil except he wasn’t as clear of a trade candidate. Third base seemed like it was his job. Things shook out in a different way. We aren’t going to hear the end of trade talks and the return, we should expect, will always involve one thing the Mets haven’t really added, controllable pitching.