3 signs the Mets are punting in 2024, 2 signs they aren't

The NY Mets are punting on 2024 because they appear to be committed to playing the young guys regularly

Playing young prospects consistently is not a bad thing for certain teams. The way these prospects improve is by getting as many reps as possible. For the Mets, however, it's a sign they're not quite playing for 2024.

New York gave several of their top prospects chances to perform in 2023, but they mostly underwhelmed. Francisco Alvarez had a great rookie year, but he had his ups and downs. Brett Baty got a chance to play everyday for months at third and he was so bad to the point where he was sent down. Mark Vientos performed well down the stretch, but his .620 OPS was far from inspiring for a player who looks like a DH. Ronny Mauricio got off to a hot start before cooling down as the league adjusted to him.

The way things are looking right now, it looks like Baty is going to be the everyday third baseman. This isn't a bad thing as the Mets are giving their former top prospect another chance to prove himself, but it doesn't show that they're trying to win in 2024. Mauricio was going to play just about everyday as well before he got hurt. Vientos could get plenty of at-bats at DH and as Baty's back-up.

Relying on Alvarez to start makes sense, obviously, but giving some of the other youngsters who did not look like they belonged chances to play just about everyday doesn't inspire much hope when it comes to winning baseball games. It lets us know who can be part of the future plans, but when it comes to 2024, the Mets might be taking a year off from trying to be true contenders.