If the Mets don't acquire a third baseman by Opening Day — and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns recently made it clear he doesn't think a spot addition is necessary — then , they will be entering the season with the following players: This position was filled by the duo of Brett Batty and Mark Vientos.
And they would expect significant improvements.
According to FanGraphs, no third baseman with at least 350 plate appearances last season finished with a worse WAR than Batty's -0.5.
As for Mark Vientos, among third basemen with at least 230 plate appearances, only Nick Mayton and Jean Segura had a lower WAR than Vientos' -0.9.
What is also worrisome is that Batty, who turned 24 in November, struggled more in the second half than the first half, ending in a miserable 18 games without a hit in August, followed by a poor OPS in September. The result was a disappointing 514. This was the lowest on record for any month in 2023.
Still, when asked this month if he thought he needed another bat in the lineup, Stearns replied: Some of that has to do with third base, which has young players. I want to secure enough at-bats.”
Left-handed Batty is currently the No. 3 starter, Vientos underperformed in 19 games in the spot last season, and promising Ronnie Mauricio suffered a torn ACL while playing winter ball. is leaving.
Batty started 94 games last year as the No. 3 hitter, but he was not particularly effective against breaking balls and non-speed pitches.
What could give the Mets hope, however, is that Batty has improved in his second year at multiple minor league levels during his career, including at Double-A Binghamton, where he went from a .787 OPS in 2021 to a .787 batting average. The fact is that it was shown. 950 in 2022.
And he was consistently solid when he was with Triple-A Syracuse a year ago.
A similar boom is expected in Queens in 2024.
One American League scout noted that it's not impossible for Batty to make significant improvements next season, comparing him in some ways to Detroit first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
“They're both talented hitters, but Torkelson looked terrible at times.” [in 2022] The scout said of Torkelson, also 24. “Then he looked a lot better last season.”
He improved his OPS from .604 to .758 and FanGraphs WAR from -1.0 to 1.4. This isn't spectacular, but it's a noticeable improvement.
Torkelson was selected No. 1 overall by the Tigers out of Arizona State in 2020, and the Mets selected Batty 12th overall out of high school in 2019.
“They seem committed to him, so let's see if he learned from last year,” the scout said.
As for possible outside help, the Mets are rumored to be linked to former Yankees forward Gio Urshela. He remains a free agent, coming off a season in which he was limited to 62 games with the Angels after sustaining a season-ending pelvis injury in June.
Former Mets Justin Turner could return to Queens, but is seen as a DH option.
He started 59 games for the Red Sox in 2022, his final season with the Dodgers, but he started just five games at third base for the Red Sox last year.
