Ranking 5 realistic options at third base for the Mets in 2024

The New York Mets are facing a critical year in 2024. After the 2023 campaign crashed and burned, it's critical to show that the team is moving in the right direction. There will be many new faces in Flushing, and with the demotion of Brett Baty to AAA this week, third base will be a hot topic heading into the offseason. Will the Mets supplement the position in free agency, or look from within the organization for the answer?

It's important to keep in mind that for as fat as Mets owner Steve Cohen's wallet is, there is a limit to his willingness to spend, especially after last offseason's spending spree resulted in such a disappointing season. Any money spent on third base could potentially limit the Mets' ability to splurge on the team's most essential area of need, starting pitching.

Let's also not forget that even though Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Edwin Diaz are locked up long term, Pete Alonso is going to command a huge contract when he hits the market next year. Extending Alonso this offseason would lock up the entire Mets core, preventing a lame duck season in which rumors, and therefore distractions, would swirl around the team all year. Pete's pending payday also has to be factored into any potential third base signing.

Let's get into the possibilities, which we'll rank from worst to best.

5) Ronny Mauricio emerges as the Mets third baseman

There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to Mauricio. He has power and speed, and he has a slash line of .287/.336/.483 at AAA Syracuse this year. Following Baty's demotion, it was reported that Mauricio would begin taking reps at third base, a position he hasn't played before. Does this concern anyone else?

Third base is one of the most demanding defensive positions on the diamond. There's a reason it's called the hot corner. Mauricio has bounced from shortstop, to second base, to left field, and now to third. That doesn't inspire confidence.

Also of importance is that although Mauricio has been hyped up as the next great Mets prospect, Brett Baty spent his minor league career ranked more highly within the Mets system. Giving Baty a year before giving up on him for a guy that has never been thought of as highly seems rash.

Mets fans have been clamoring for Mauricio to get called up all year. At this point, if he's anything short of a combination of David Wright and Jose Reyes, it will be a disappointment. Handing him the starting job, at a position he isn't familiar with, on a team that is trying to rinse the bad taste of 2023 out of its mouth, in a city that puts more pressure on its players than any other, is a recipe for disaster.

We'd love to see Mauricio on the Opening Day roster next year, but let's ease him into things before throwing him into the fire.

4) Matt Chapman signs a long-term deal to be the Mets third baseman

This ranking is not a knock on Matt Chapman, an All-Star caliber player that would fit fantastically onto this roster, both in the lineup and in the field. Instead, this is a knock on the money it would take to sign Matt Chapman. As we've mentioned before, Chapman is projected by Bleacher Report to sign this offseason for something in the range of six years, $180 million.

The Mets are paying the likes of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and others more money to play for other teams than some teams are paying for its entire roster. While this is evidence that certain small market owners should find a new hobby where they actually spend their billions of dollars instead of holding entire cities hostage with their miserly ways, it doesn't change the fact that Steve Cohen has a limit to how much cash he wants to set on fire.

If the Mets do nothing at all to address their starting pitching in free agency, their starting rotation in 2024 will be Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, Tylor Megill, David Peterson, and Cow-Bell Man. For Mets fans that have suffered most of their lives, this is a bridge too far. At minimum, two quality starters from free agency need to be brought in, and you could very easily talk me into Mike Vasil rounding things out by making the jump to the majors.

Going after the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Julio Urias, Aaron Nola, and others will not be cheap. Matt Chapman will be very good for some team in 2024 and beyond, but he can only help the Mets so much if they have no pitching.

3) Brett Baty takes back his job as the Mets third baseman

Baty's recent demotion and continued mediocre play doesn't inspire confidence that he should be penciled in every day on the 2024 Mets lineup. Hopefully he finishes the season strong, whether that be in AAA or with a call up later in the year, but even then, he won't have shown enough to have earned a stranglehold on the job.

Baty's numbers against lefties are the primary reason why he can't yet be trusted to play every day. He's struck out in exactly one third of his at-bats against southpaws, while managing only a single home run and a paltry .159 batting average.

More than any other sport, the major league baseball season is a grind. While the NFL plays just once a week and the NBA has embraced the concept of load management, baseball is still mostly stuck in the old school mindset (pitch counts notwithstanding) of players playing nearly every day. With a season that stretches from April through October, 162 games takes its toll, especially on young players.

Baty will enter next year more prepared for the wear and tear of a full season in the big leagues, but it would behoove the Mets to not put too much on his plate. Buck Showalter called Baty's demotion "just a little timeout" and a "reset". This shows that the Mets still have faith that he can figure things out.

For every Francisco Alvarez and Corbin Carroll that are established as franchise players in their rookie seasons, countless others take longer to become quality major leaguers. It's unfair to expect Baty to be an All-Star right away, but his future is still bright.

1) Brett Baty and Eduardo Escobar platoon at third base

Part of me believes Mets fans wouldn't be that excited for a reunion between Escobar and the team in 2024. After the Mets fell so flat in 2023, do you really want to run it back with so many similar pieces?

On the other hand, Escobar was a beloved clubhouse presence, and he fell victim to the Mets being unable to commit strongly to any one direction at the position. Escobar began the year as the unquestioned starter, but after struggling and seeing Baty get off to a hot start in the majors, he was pushed aside to play a limited bench role as Baty took over.

Baty's strong debut was a bit of a mirage, as he has struggled the longer the season has gone on. Escobar, meanwhile, played well in a pinch-hitting role before being shipped to the Angels. LA does have a club option on Escobar next year, but the team likely won't have a place for him if Anthony Rendon and Brandon Drury enter the season healthy, which would allow him to enter free agency.

Bringing Escobar back for a straight platoon with Baty makes a lot of sense. He's hit .288 with an OPS of .788 against lefties, and he'd be a capable late-inning pinch hitter against the Josh Haders of the world. The Mets should also be able to sign him for a reasonable price.

Escobar was a willing and gracious mentor to Baty, and the young third baseman's recent struggles have more or less coincided with the time Escobar has spent on the West Coast. Not only would an Escobar/Baty platoon make Buck Showalter's life easier, it could help Baty develop into the franchise's third baseman of the future.