Showalter Indicates Brett Baty May Not Play Against Lefties

During the Mets’ blowout win on Tuesday over the Nats, SNY’s Gary Cohen delivered a curious tidbit about his recent conversation with Buck Showalter. Cohen noted that Showalter told him the Mets would be playing differently against contenders for the rest of the season than they would against non-contending teams such as Washington.

When asked him what specifically Showalter planned on doing differently, the Mets’ manager mentioned starting Brett Baty against the Nats on Tuesday when they were throwing a left-handed pitcher in Patrick Corbin.

Here’s the audio of Gary Cohen passing along his convo with Buck Showalter about the Mets playing their lineup different against contenders. pic.twitter.com/PQrXmsMPDs

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) September 6, 2023

What was not clear was who exactly Showalter planned on playing third instead if Baty was not going to be in the lineup. The indication seemed to be that someone like Jonathan Araúz or Danny Mendick (if he gets called back up) would be a better option than one of the Mets’ top prospects playing his natural position.

While it’s true that Baty has struggled this season in the big leagues, in particular against left-handed pitchers, quadruple-A players like Araúz and Mendick are in no universe better options than Baty at third.

If Showalter was intending to say he planned on starting one of the other Mets’ prospects at third, such as Mark Vientos or, perhaps, Ronny Mauricio, the explanation may make a bit more sense, but it still is less than ideal. With the Mets no longer contending for a playoff spot, their focus for the rest of the season should be getting their young players as much as experience as possible as they prepare to battle for starting spots on the 2024 club, and Mauricio and Vientos have other positions they can play.

Baty was sent down to Triple-A several weeks ago to help him get a mental and physical reset, but he’s now back with the big-league club and should be playing every day. The same goes for the rest of the “baby Mets” in Vientos, Mauricio, and Francisco Álvarez. While veterans like Araúz, Mendick, Rafael Ortega, and Omar Narváez may be more polished defensively, they will not be part of the Mets’ long-term future. Additionally, it’s hard to argue that they actually give the Mets a better chance to win than recent top-100 prospects.

After Wednesday, the Mets will play teams in contention for a postseason spot in every series for the rest of the season (one series with Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Arizona, and two with Miami and Philadelphia), so we will see as early as the end of the week how exactly Showalter plans on following through with his intention to play “differently” against contending squads.

Minnesota’s Dallas Keuchel, a lefty, is currently scheduled to pitch on Friday night against the Mets. Brett Baty should be starting at third base in that matchup, and in every one against a lefty after that for the rest of the season. With the Mets not in contention, nothing should be more important than letting the young players get as many big-league reps as possible. The fate of the rest of the NL playoff contenders is not the Mets’ problem.

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