3 Mets players who will have to earn our trust in 2024

It is hard to believe that in just a few more weeks, pitchers and catchers will begin to report for the New York Mets for the start of Spring Training. That means despite the cold and wintry conditions we have seen, especially on the East Coast, baseball is almost here.

And for the Mets, they're looking to rebound after a disappointing 75-87 season in 2023 after winning 101 games the season before. Now, under first-year manager Carlos Mendoza, can the Mets get back into contention in the very competitive NL East?

It will not be easy for New York as it still seems like there are more questions than answers for this team as this offseason has been a quiet one for them in terms of big-time moves not being made. So with Spring Training near and with mostly the same players from 2023 returning for the 2024 regular season, these three players this Spring need to earn our trust for this year.

1. Brett Baty

With the devastating news this winter that Ronny Mauricio will miss the entire 2024 Season after suffering a torn ACL while playing in the Dominican Winter League, it seems likely that Brett Baty may end up being the starting third baseman for the Mets on Opening Day. Even though Baty may take that job, he still needs to earn.

Baty, who the Mets drafted in the first round in 2019 in the MLB Draft and is one of the "Baby Mets", burst onto the scene right away when he clubbed a two-run home run in his first major league at-bat against the Atlanta Braves on August 18. That got Met fans excited about what he could bring to the table both on offense and on defense and how he could be the third baseman of the future for the Amazins. But after a disappointing 2023, Baty needs to rebound if he wants to gain the trust back from the Mets faithful.

Baty played just 108 games this past season and had a poor batting average of .212 and drove in just 34 runs and nine home runs. Also, Baty had an alarming 109 strikeouts in his 353 at-bats as well which was a concern for the Mets to see. His defense as well was not too sharp as his struggles were on display with the most notable moment when Baty missed a routine pop-up against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 15 which resulted in LA scoring a run. If Baty wants to be the third baseman of the future, he needs to play a lot better both on the field and in the batter's box. 109 strikeouts won't cut it in New York and miscues on defense like the one we saw last July by Baty, won't cut it either.