Answering Baty, Acuña & Mauricio’s Biggest Questions Heading Into 2025

The Mets seem comfortable moving on from Pete Alonso, though it’s not a guarantee they will. If they do, the plan seems to be to move Mark Vientos to first and have an internal player man third base.

The three names tossed around are Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio—three players who deserve a shot (if they haven’t already spoiled theirs) to see if they’re a long-term fit. But they all have their holes, which is why they aren’t a sure thing to stick at third base—or any other position. I asked our own Mike Mayer what each could do to improve their chances of sticking around.

Brett Baty

What does Brett Baty have to do this offseason to finally have an impact at the MLB level?

MM: The first part is clearly opportunity, and we need a conclusion on the Alonso situation before we have a better idea of that. We could also see Baty traded before Opening Day as he’s been in trade talks with multiple teams.

That said, if he’s with the Mets and does get the opportunity for playing time, Baty needs to put the ball in the air more and with more authority. Obviously easier said than done. His defense at third did see improvements last year, so if he was able to at least to a league-average hitter, he would have some value.

The Mets tried him out at second and a couple of other positions. Is he worth keeping around if he can improve his positional flexibility?

Versatility certainly makes Baty or any player more valuable, but I don’t think he’s a great fit at second and didn’t see any time in the outfield last season. For a utility-type role, I believe the skill set possessed by Acuña is a better fit.

We’ll get to him in a second. With Baty, we’ve talked about him lifting the ball with authority for what feels like a couple years now. Is it at the point where you feel he needs to overhaul his philosophy and mechanics? Is that too dramatic?

He made some adjustments last year but not enough to the point of becoming a big-league regular. Unfortunately, the Mets organization from a hitting standpoint still isn’t known for getting the most out of hitters—particularly from a developmental area and/or working with hitters with the exact issues holding Baty back.

Luisangel Acuña

Acuña didn’t really show pop in the minors, posting a below-average OPS for Triple-A Syracuse across a ton of chances. But then he came to the majors and fit right in. I know there are big question marks about that sample size, but what made Acuña successful once he came to the majors?

He was super aggressive against pitchers who weren’t afraid to challenge him (three of his seven extra-base hits came on the first pitch). I’m sure pitchers weren’t all that afraid of challenging him given the subpar results in Triple-A. I certainly think Acuña wasn’t overwhelmed by the limelight of the majors too, which certainly helped.

If the Mets let Alonso walk and Vientos moves to first, Acuña will get chances at third. Can he play there long-term?

Acuña has no major league nor minor league experience playing third base. That said, he’s a fine defensive infielder and would likely be above average there. His offense, though, would probably be below average for what you expect from that position.

So what does he need to do to stick around long-term in MLB? Before 2024, there was hope he could be a solid role player, but those expectations dropped based on his Triple-A performance last year.

Really the only time he hit since being traded to the Mets was his short stint in the majors. He will stick in the big leaguers simply because of his defense and speed, but he will need to be more patient at the plate and at least show gap power to become a big-league starter.

Ronny Mauricio

Is it even reasonable to expect Mauricio to contribute in the majors this year with how slowly his ACL injury is healing?

I believe the expectations are different now for Mauricio with the realization that he might not be 100% to start camp. I think you have to simply see anything you get from Mauricio this season in the majors as a bonus. Also, it feels like his short stint in the majors from 2023 gets overvalued and mischaracterized. He certainly gave you a look at the raw power and stolen base threat he can be, but he had an OBP under .300 and struck out 29% of the time.

This feels in line with what evaluators pointed out as his struggles before he came up to the majors. Hitting a 117 mph rope for your first hit will certainly open eyes though. Mauricio is pretty swing-happy, so is it mostly about learning to be more selective?

Being more selective, but not just in terms of walks. He needs to be more selective in some of the strikes he’s swinging at. As you mentioned, he’s a guy that can hit the ball hard but he’s making too much weak contact and he’s another young Met hitting the ball on the ground too much.

I guess here is where I ask: what are the Mets doing to fix this? Seems like it’s an organizational-wide issue.

That’s a really good question. We know the Mets built a pitching lab and hired smart people in that area, and how that has certainly helped over the last couple of years. As far as I know, the Mets haven’t made any big changes in terms of hitting coaches/coordinators or at the major league level. I guess we will have to see if the folks in-house at the minor league and major league level can begin to make the necessary changes.

Last question: outside of this trio, who’s a prospect that can make an impact this year?

The easiest answer here is Jett Williams. He can play shortstop, second base and center field, and if not for an injury last year, he would have likely played a large portion of 2024 in Triple-A. There are still questions about how much power he will have at the big league level and how much will he strike out, but I don’t believe he will have any issues getting on base and he’s a good base stealer. Those types of players find roles in the majors.

Second base is currently one of the weaker spots on the major league depth chart and the outfield depth in Triple-A isn’t strong. A turnaround from Drew Gilbert—who was hurt in 2024 and struggled when he did play—would provide the Mets with better outfield depth and could also debut this year.

 

The post Answering Baty, Acuña & Mauricio’s Biggest Questions Heading Into 2025 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.