Brett Baty’s first half left the Mets with more questions than answers, but the late push he put together before the break may have done enough to keep his name in the conversation.
Baty saw his hitting streak end at 10 games over the weekend, and he finished the first half at .221/.297/.314 with four home runs. That line, along with a 0 bWAR, has made his case hard to pin down. He’s been useful because he can move around the field, but the production still hasn’t matched the hope that followed him since the Mets drafted him in 2019.
The Mets seem willing to keep leaning into that versatility, or at least avoid letting his value crater. He went into the break on a hot stretch before going hitless in his final two games, and that raises the obvious question: what does a strong finish mean for his future in New York?
One answer is simple - if Baty finishes 2026 well, the Mets will almost certainly want him back.
He entered the season expected to handle first base, right field, and serve as a backup at third base and second base. Instead, he has spent far more time at third than planned because of the Francisco Lindor absence.
At times he has looked comfortable in those spots. At others, he’s looked completely out of place.
Even so, the overall package has been good enough to keep him in the mix. In some ways, he’s produced the kind of line the Mets have gotten from Jeff McNeil with the Athletics this year, only at a much lower cost.
McNeil is hitting .226/.290/.302 and is worth -0.5 bWAR. Baty’s defense, especially at third base, may be the edge that keeps him ahead.
There’s also the practical side of it. He’s cheap, still relatively young, and he still has a minor league option.
That makes it difficult to see the Mets trying to cash him out while they still can. If anything, the more obvious offseason move might be to try to move Mark Vientos, whose defense has made it hard to find a real position for him and whose offense has been just as rough.
Baty has also become something of a favorite in the front office, at least according to the reporting around him, and the Mets have repeatedly acted like that’s true. With Marcus Semien struggling and dealing with recent wear and tear, Baty looks like a natural backup at second base. Third base is a mess with Bo Bichette’s opt-out, and while the Mets would be fooling themselves to treat Baty as a true starting third baseman, a strong enough finish could push them in that direction anyway.
The frustrating part is that this has been the story with Baty again and again: flashes, then fadeouts. Early in the year he couldn’t draw a walk.
Now he has 30. His monthly OPS has gone .566, .750, .435, and 740 this season, which tells you how uneven the ride has been.
A bad start and an even worse June had plenty of people thinking his time was running out.
That’s what makes the rest of the season so important. Baty is still a long way from what the Mets expected when they took him 12th overall in 2019.
Keeping him only makes sense if they do it with a short leash. A strong finish would keep him in the mix as a movable piece who can cover a few spots.
If he doesn’t finish well, the Mets may have a different problem entirely. Selling low is never ideal, but at some point they may decide it’s worth trying to convince the Miami Marlins there’s more in there than the numbers have shown.
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The Mets stance seems to be that any serious conversation would have to bring back a meaningful package, not just a collection of pieces to fill out a deal. There is also a sense that the club wants flexibility after the deadline to keep evaluating both pitchers and position players, which means Weavers name could linger in the background for a while before anything gets resolved. [Read more 🡒]