3 Mets players with the most to gain down the stretch

2) NY Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar is fighting for a starting job next year

Where does Eduardo Escobar fit in with the Mets next season? With Brett Baty already making his MLB debut and someone we could see on the Opening Day roster in 2023, this leaves Escobar out of a starting job.

Escobar hasn’t played well enough this season to justify handing him the job to begin next year automatically. One option could be for a regular platoon with Baty starting against righties. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, Escobar needs to finish the year stronger than he began it.

Because he is under contract for next year, we can expect Escobar to be on the team in some capacity. He’s able to play multiple infield positions which makes him a candidate to even become an expensive bench player. It wouldn’t be such a bad depth move to have him and Baty together while also allowing Escobar to be the backup second baseman regularly. Of course, if Luis Guillorme is still with the team, he’d also be someone else Buck Showalter could use in this role.

For sure, if Escobar slumps in the final weeks and has a miserable postseason, the Mets will want to start looking at the future instead. He has been much better since returning from the IL. Hopefully, it continues and the Mets can at least have some faith he’ll be a reliable bat for them next season.