1 Mets player who will be out of the starting lineup by the trade deadline

Eduardo Escobar is the starting third baseman for the New York Mets going into spring training this season. Escobar, last season, was a streaky hitter who didn’t get going until the last month of the season. In the first half of the season, Escobar had a batting average of .224, with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs. In the second half, he started to get going a bit as he hit .273, with 9 hrs and 29 RBI. In September alone he hit .340, with 8 hrs and 24 RBI.

So, his stats show him as a streaky hitter who can get really hot at times but can get cold as well. These streaks can also last for a few months. Do the Mets really want to stick with Escobar again at third base even though they might get another streaky season out of him? Or do they want to take a chance on their 23-year-old prospect in Brett Baty?

Brett Baty was called up by the Mets last season in August and made an instant impact. In his first at bat, he hit a 2 run home run off of Jake Odorizzi in the Mets 9-7 win against the Braves, and he would end up going 1-for-4 that night with the home run being his only hit, but an impactful one. After that, Baty would end up hitting only .184 on the season in 11 games with the Mets and his season would soon end after suffering a thumb injury. So one would think why take a chance on Baty after he only hit .184 the rest of the way, and Escobar ended the season with the big September he had?

Mets prospect Brett Baty can replace Eduardo Escobar if he shows improvement in his game

Well, if Baty has a successful spring training and Escobar goes back to having the cold first half he had last season, don’t be surprised if Baty becomes the everyday third baseman and Escobar is traded halfway through the season. Baty definitely has potential to be a good player and he was working on his defense in the offseason with 2x gold glove winner Troy Tulowitzki. If Baty can get going on offense and improve his defense, he definitely has a chance to replace Escobar in the starting lineup if Escobar has the struggles he had last season before September.

The New York Mets can do a similar move to what they did in 2018 when they traded away their second baseman in Asdrubal Cabrera and called up Jeff McNeil. They took a chance on McNeil and look at the player McNeil has become, a 2x All Star, a batting champion, silver slugger, great bat, and a versatile defender who can play almost any position. I’d say that move definitely worked out for the Mets. They can do the same here with Escobar and Baty. Trade Escobar midway through the season and have Baty be their everyday third baseman. This could be a possibility and Escobar could be gone by the trade deadline.

Eduardo Escobar is the likely candidate to be out of the Mets lineup by the trade deadline. However, it does ride on the type of success Brett Baty can have in spring training. So, we shall see if the Mets go for that type of Cabrera/McNeil type of move midway though the season, and if Brett Baty can have some type of success that McNeil had if that were to happen. We will see by July where Baty and Escobar will be at, whether its Escobar still starting or Baty who is starting and Escobar gone.