Jeff PassanESPN
The New York Mets are calling up third baseman Brett Baty, one of the top prospects in baseball, to help stem the tide of injuries to their infield in recent days, sources familiar with the move told ESPN.
Baty, 22, is expected to fly to Atlanta, where the Mets played the second game of a four-game series Tuesday night, losing 5-0. They placed infielder Luis Guillorme on the injured list Monday with a groin strain that will sideline him for more than a month, and Eduardo Escobar could join him on the injured list with a strained oblique.
Ranked the 37th-best prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, Baty is a left-handed-hitting slugger who went 12th overall in the 2019 draft to the Mets. While some teams dinged Baty for being an older high school player, the Mets bought into the bat and have been rewarded mightily. Between Double-A and a week’s worth of games at Triple-A, Baty is hitting .315/.410/.533 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs.
Teams inquired about Baty at the trade deadline, but the Mets were loath to even talk about him or their top prospect, catcher Francisco Alvarez, in any discussions.
The Mets’ desire to complement a World Series-caliber core with homegrown talent is evident, and Baty is among New York’s greatest successes — and another potential star from a 2019 draft class that’s looking historically good, with Adley Rutschman, Bobby Witt Jr., Alek Manoah, Andrew Vaughn, Riley Greene and George Kirby thriving in the major leagues while Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Volpe rank as McDaniel’s top three prospects in baseball.
The Mets’ need for reinforcements goes beyond fulfilling an organizational goal. They’re trying to win the National League East, too. With a 75-42 record, they lead the second-place Atlanta Braves by 3½ games.
