The New York Mets spent the winter rewriting their infield depth chart in permanent marker, bringing in Bo Bichette to lock down third base and unceremoniously shipping Jeff McNeil off to the Oakland Athletics.
On the surface, it looked like a vote of no confidence in Brett Baty, the former top prospect who was supposed to own the hot corner for the next decade. But if you think Baty is destined to rot on the bench or get lost in the shuffle, you haven’t been paying attention to David Stearns’ master plan.
The reality is that Baty isn’t being demoted; he is being unleashed. By trading McNeil, the Mets cleared the runway for the 26-year-old to embrace a “super-utility” role that could actually make him more valuable than he was as a stationary third baseman. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the front office isn’t looking to bury Baty—they are actively trying to manufacture a full season’s worth of at-bats for him.
“The Mets also project that Baty can play left field well and, as long as he hits, will find 500-ish plate appearances moving among several positions, which is what Stearns told him in a reassuring call after the Bichette signing.”
The Bat Is Finally Waking Up, and the Metrics Prove It
We need to stop talking about Baty like he’s a bust because his 2025 season was a legitimate step forward. He played 130 games and slashed .254/.313/.435, finally tapping into that raw power we heard so much about with a career-high 18 home runs and 50 RBIs. His 111 wRC+ tells the real story: he was 11% better than the league-average hitter. That isn’t a guy you stash in Triple-A; that is a guy you find a way to get into the lineup.
The underlying numbers scream “breakout.” Baty ranked in the 80th percentile for Barrel Rate and the 86th percentile for Bat Speed last season, proving that when he makes contact, he punishes the baseball. Sure, the 25% strikeout rate and the whiffs need to be cleaned up, but you can teach discipline. You can’t teach the kind of violent bat speed that generates 70th percentile Hard-Hit rates.
A New Defensive Identity
Defensively, this transition to a utility role shouldn’t be a disaster. Baty actually handled himself well at third base last year, logging 573 innings with four defensive runs saved and two outs above average. He is athletic enough to handle the transition to left field, and his arm will play anywhere on the diamond.
Stearns knows that for this offense to reach its ceiling, they need Baty’s left-handed thump in the mix. By moving him around the diamond—a start in left here, a day at third when Bichette rests, maybe even some reps at first—the Mets are betting that versatility will unlock the final version of Brett Baty. He might not have a fixed address on the diamond anymore, but if he hits 25 homers, nobody is going to care where he stands in the field.