These 3 teams should make Billy Eppler a trade offer for Brett Baty
Brett Baty will not be the future third baseman of the New York Mets as long as Carlos Correa’s medicals check out fine. This week’s stunner of a transaction, there’s plenty of fallout to keep an eye on including what the Mets decide to do with Baty.
Many fans are hoping to see him spend some time getting better in left field. Because Mark Canha is on a team option for the 2024 campaign and the organization doesn’t have an obvious replacement, it’s a logical jump.
This shouldn’t stop other MLB teams from calling up Billy Eppler to make an offer. Both those hoping to win now and looking to build something for the future should get on the phone and see what he Mets would like in exchange for one of the best prospects in baseball.
1) The Mets and White Sox are a match in a Brett Baty trade
The Mets and Chicago White Sox are actually a match in a couple of ways. If Liam Hendriks gets dealt, the Mets can offer Chicago several bats. Baty and Eduardo Escobar could be fits for them. In fact, both could start the year on their Opening Day roster. Escobar at second base and Baty at third base isn’t ideal for the White Sox yet a possible major improvement.
Yoan Moncada hasn’t turned into the budding superstar the White Sox thought he would be. Will the same misfortunates befall Baty on their roster?
Chicago could use some more offensive punch after losing Jose Abreu to the Houston Astros. They did sign Andrew Benintendi but remain a club with a lot of promise and not much execution. Hendriks would be the dream addition to add from the White Sox. If Baty’s involved, it might be the only kind of trade that makes sense. We'd still probably prefer the Mets hold onto B.B.
2) The Mets can look at the Tigers and see their great need at third base
The Detroit Tigers have an even worse situation than their division rivals in Chicago. The team spent most of last year forgetting what a home run was. Former Mets infielder Javier Baez was a huge signing for them and yet he put together a hugely disappointing year.
Possible trade additions for the Mets from Detroit are much different than Hendriks. Their top reliever, Gregory Soto, isn’t quite as accomplished but he does have more years of control, throws left-handed, and is several years younger. He’d be the guy to acquire in a deal headlined by Baty.
This does raise a similar question as it would with Hendriks. Is a top position player prospect worth trading away for a bullpen arm? I tend to think it isn’t.
The Tigers would need to blow the Mets away with a deal, possibly even including one of their other young pitchers in the deal. This sways the possible trade back in the direction of being a little too favorable for the Mets. Adding in another prospect or two would help even things out. Tarik Skubal, for instance, could be someone the Mets add for depth. Taking into account that Max Scherzer can opt out after this season and Carlos Carrasco’s contract expires, it couldn’t hurt for the Mets to get ahead of the game.
Baty plus another good prospect for Soto and Skubal? It would turn the clock back for Detroit’s hopes of winning yet set them up with a good bat, maybe two. The problem for the Mets is Soto is wild and they have enough starting pitcher depth at the moment.
3) The Mets may have to dig deep to find something enticing on the Cubs roster
The Chicago Cubs are kind of building something on the Northside of town. They’ve signed Jameson Taillon and Dansby Swanson away from contenders this offseason. They’re the team giving Cody Bellinger a chance at redemption.
Many parts of the Cubs roster remain underwhelming. Third base is one of those spot. A trade with the Mets centered on Baty could help rectify it.
The three Cubs prospects in the top 100 right now are all outfielders. This includes their best, Pete Crow-Armstrong. You may remember him from such trades as the 2021 deadline deal for Javier Baez.
All, including PCA, rank lower than Baty. The Mets probably wouldn’t want to make the swap, unless the Cubs are able to sweeten the deal somehow with an additional prospect. It could make some sense for a trade like this. The Mets land a guy who is already familiar with the outfield. The biggest problem is he's further away from the majors.
There really isn’t much on the Cubs roster or in the organization that makes much sense for Baty. The only way he’d end up with them is if a third team gets involved.
The Mets don’t have much room for growth without vastly changing the roster. Many of us would still like to see an upgrade with the DH. Baty should, however, be in contention for at-bats in that spot anyway. If Daniel Vogelbach stunk up the joint, it wouldn’t be too costly to DFA him.
Both Chicago teams and Detroit should be on the phone with the Mets. Does Billy Eppler answer? It's not destiny on the other line.