Brett Baty Drawing Trade Interest

Mets third baseman Brett Baty is drawing trade interest around the league, and the front office is at least listening to offers on the former top prospect, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Baty isn’t being actively shopped but isn’t off limits either, making him an option for clubs seeking affordable (salary-wise) help at the hot corner.

Baty has long looked like a logical trade candidate. He made our list of the top offseason trade candidates heading into the winter, due largely to the emergence of Mark Vientos at third base and the possibility of the Mets re-signing Pete Alonso. In a scenario where Alonso signs elsewhere and Vientos moves across the diamond to first base, there’d still be a path for Baty to claim the everyday gig at the hot corner, but he’s stumbled multiple times when afforded that opportunity in recent seasons. Mets fans will want to check out Puma’s piece for in-depth quotes from scouts around the league, a couple of whom feel Baty is a small adjustment or two away from cementing himself as a big league regular.

Of course, scouting opinions like that only underscore that other teams would love to get their hands on the still-25-year-old Baty. The former No. 12 overall pick (2019) and longtime top prospect has mustered only a .215/.282/.325 line in his first 602 MLB plate appearances, although those have been spread across three seasons. Baty is a .273/.368/.531 hitter in 416 Triple-A plate appearances and has shown improving strike zone awareness even in the majors. He walked at a 9.4% clip last year and cut his strikeout rate from 28% in 2023 down to 24.6% in 2024. Baty fanned in 21.2% of his Triple-A plate appearances and walked at a 12.4% clip in 2024.

Baty still has a minor league option remaining, and he’s under club control for at least another five seasons. That lessens any urgency to deal him, but with the Mets looking to add multiple starting pitchers — even after signing Frankie Montas — there’s a pretty obvious path to using Baty as a trade chip as well.

The Mets’ focus is clearly on Juan Soto at the moment, but the manner in which that market plays out could also impact Baty’s future in Queens. If the Mets don’t reel in Soto, they could become more aggressive on Alonso, Willy Adames or Alex Bregman, any of which would further impede Baty’s path to the Citi Field. Baty has seen some time at second base and in left field, but his natural and likely best position is at third base.

The Blue Jays, Astros, Angels, Mariners, Tigers, Royals and Brewers are among the teams who could look for third base help on the trade market in the weeks to come. (The Yankees could, too, though it’d be more surprising to see a trade of a notable prospect between the two New York teams.) The Mariners’ young starting pitching is the envy of most major league clubs, but president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto now somewhat famously called trading one of his starters “Plan Z” on the offseason to-do list in late September.