After weeks of waiting on a decision, Carlos Correa’s wild free agency saga ended as his six year, $200 million contract with the Minnesota Twins became official. For the Mets, while a Correa deal was never even in the plan until just hours before his 13-year deal with the Giants was reported and later on as that original deal fell apart, losing out on a player of his caliber is a blow to their immediate future. But now that the Twins have locked up Correa for at least six more seasons, the Mets have to figure out their third base plans once again.
Enter MLB’s 18th ranked prospect, 23-year-old Brett Baty
Baty was selected 12th overall by the Mets in the 2019 MLB Draft and was immediately touted as New York’s third baseman of the future. He debuted in August 2022, playing in just 11 games before a torn UCL in his right thumb ended his season abruptly. Baty’s debut came just days after his promotion to AAA Syracuse, playing there for six games before being called up to the majors.
Baty spent most of the 2022 season in AA Binghamton, slashing .312/.406/.544 with a .950 OPS across 89 games. He also added 22 doubles and 19 home runs in 362 ABs. Throughout three seasons and 237 games across his minor league career, Baty has slashed .289/.390/.493 with a .883 OPS. Baty was promoted to AAA in early August 2022, where he hit .364 over 22 ABs, and was quickly promoted after Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar suffered injuries, leaving the Mets with a hole at third base.
While Baty’s first stint in the majors didn’t necessarily live up to expectations, as he hit just .184 with an OPS of .586 across 11 games, the overall numbers don’t tell the full story. Baty hit a two-run homer in his first major league at-bat against the division rival Braves. Further, if you include the first three and final four games of Baty’s shortened MLB season, he hit .292/.320/.542 with a respectable .862 OPS. Baty also was in the 89th percentile in max exit velocity, reaching an impressive 113 MPH.
Baty’s defense has never been particularly impressive but especially compared to the lackluster defense at third base for the Mets in recent years with Eduardo Escobar and JD Davis, and he should be more than serviceable at the hot corner.
After the Mets 12-year deal with Carlos Correa fell through due to concerns over his physical, the Mets will need to figure out their third base situation for the upcoming season. Other options include Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar, but the Mets #2 prospect will likely be given a much longer opportunity in the majors league in 2023.
