MIAMI — Brett Baty’s regular season is done. Should the Mets make it to the postseason, it could be a different story, but without a guaranteed playoff spot the club isn’t looking that far ahead.
Baty was placed on the injured list Saturday afternoon with an oblique injury. Imaging will be conducted next week to determine the extent of the injury. Until then, Jared Young is with the team in Miami this weekend to take Baty’s spot on the roster. The infielder tweaked it on a swing Friday night in a loss to the Miami Marlins, and was still in pain Saturday morning when he tried to take swings in the cage and throw.
“I got here, got hot, and went to the cage and did my normal routine, tried hitting off the machine, and then tried to simulate an at-bat,” Baty said Saturday at LoanDepot Park. “I sat down for a little bit and tried to go back and work, like take swings up off a high heater. That’s when I felt it a lot. So I felt like it was going to be hard to have that sit down for a couple minutes and then go have another at-bat.”
It’s a big blow for the Mets who could use his glove and his bat. Baty is coming off a career year with 18 home runs and a .748 OPS. He’s been especially good in the second half of the season, despite inconsistent playing time with Jeff McNeil still starting most games at second base and Mark Vientos getting games at third.
Baty has been the Mets’ best third base defender this season. Vientos has shown signs of regression defensively, and while Ronny Mauricio has been good in limited action, it’s how limited the action has been. Until Saturday, Mauricio hadn’t started a game in more than a month. He made only eight starts in August.
Mauricio had a hot month at the plate in July, but as his production started to slip, the Mets chose to ride the hot hand with Baty at third, using Vientos when he didn’t start at the hot corner. Since Aug. 1, Mauricio has played in only 21 games and hit just .175 with a .408 OPS.
“It’s not easy, but you’ve got to give him credit,” Manager Carlos Mendoza said of the 24-year-old Mauricio. “He’s staying ready, and now here we are asking him to go out there and help us win baseball games.”
It’s not just any baseball games, it’s the two most crucial games of the season. The Mets can be eliminated Saturday if they fall to the Marlins again and the Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers for the second straight day. Mauricio and infielder Luisangel Acuña have continued to work on their development on days when they aren’t in the lineup. The Mets seemed to think they could develop the two of them at the big league level this year without regular at-bats, but they sent Acuña back to Triple-A twice to give him more playing time.
With Mauricio, it’s been a different story. He’s shown the potential for tremendous power at times when the rest of the bats have been lacking. Defensively, he possesses a better glove and better overall instincts at third base than Vientos, which is why the Mets chose to start him Saturday with ground-ball pitcher Clay Holmes on the mound.
If ever there was a time for Mauricio to play up to his potential, it’s now.
PIECING TOGETHER PITCHING
Every starting pitcher except Nolan McLean is in the bullpen for the Mets this weekend. They called up right-handed reliever Dylan Ross for reinforcements Saturday as well. Yet again, the Mets could be relying on a pitcher that is still developing. The 20th-ranked prospect in the Mets’ system, Ross threw 54 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A this season, posting a 2.17 ERA.
The Mets were hesitant to call him up earlier in the season given his high walk rate. Ross, a 25-year-old Georgia native who was drafted in the 13th round in 2022, walked 5.5 hitters per nine innings across three levels this season, and owned a 6.2 walks-per-nine rate in Triple-A.
While the Mets like his competitive makeup, they may have to put him into a less-than-ideal situation in the game.
“Elite stuff, obviously, but I don’t know that there are going to be soft spots for him [to make his debut],” Mendoza said. “Like, this is where we are. We’ll try to mix and match and use whoever is available, and he’s here for a reason. For me to sit here and say, ‘Hey, we’re trying to find a softer lane,’ I don’t think that’s going to be the case here.”
ROSTER MOVE
Center fielder Jose Siri was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. He was designated for assignment Wednesday after the Mets activated Tyrone Taylor off the injured list. Right-hander Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to make room for Ross.
