5 best Mets options at third base for next season ranked

2) Brett Baty

It's no secret that the 2023 season was a disastrous one for Brett Baty. He was red-hot in Spring Training and earned an early-season call-up thanks to a terrific start for AAA Syracuse. Once he was called up the bat slowed down, however, and Baty never quite clicked.

His numbers with the Mets this season were not good one bit. He slashed .212/.275/.323 with nine home runs and 34 RBI. There were plenty of times he appeared overmatched at the dish, and he's always been shaky in the field.

Starting Baty would be a risk for a team trying to compete, but it'd also be foolish to sell low right now. Last offseason he was considered a top-20 prospect in all of baseball. There's a reason for that. Can you imagine what the Angels would look like if they sold Mike Trout after his first chance with prolonged playing time didn't go well?

I'm not saying Baty is the answer, but we at least need to give him a little bit more time. Signing a placeholder doesn't exactly accomplish anything. The Mets would either be forced to sell low on Baty in a trade, or send him down to the minors where he's already proven he can play. It's time for Baty to prove he can do it in the majors, and he can't accomplish this without the reps.