Mets’ Francisco Lindor invites Brett Baty to work on defense and 'offensive consistency' with him this offseason

You may have seen it already, but on Mark Vientos’ Instagram account, the young Mets infielder posted a video of himself working with Francisco Lindor and a trainer in the offseason.

Vientos is seen taking grounders, picking up hoppers and tinkering with his footwork. The 23-year-old is hoping to improve his defense and be on the level as his Gold Glove-winning teammate.

Lindor, who was a Gold Glove finalist in 2023, told Newsday’s Laura Albanese that he invited Vientos to his town in Puerto Rico. They’re working on defense, specifically “staying low to the ground, not speeding up when the ball comes to them and creating "offensive consistency."

The Mets shortstop also says he hopes Brett Baty joins him in Puerto Rico this offseason.

Vientos had a solid 2023 at the plate. He slashed .211/.253/.546 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 65 games played.

However, his defense left a lot to be desired.

Vientos split time between third and first base, with the majority of his games coming at the hot corner. In 19 games at third, he committed three errors and had a fielding percentage of .932. He was also a -1 in outs above average (OAA) and runs above average/runs prevented (RAA).

As for Baty, he had a more up-and-down 2023. After becoming the everyday third baseman early on, he was demoted over the summer as his offensive numbers plummeted. He would rake in Triple-A before being called up in September.

He finished the season slashing .212/.275/.598 with nine home runs and 34 RBI in 108 games. Defensively, the 24-year-old played 100 games (94 starts) at third where he committed 10 errors and had a fielding percentage of .956. He was a -4 in OAA and a -3 in RAA.

With David Stearns stating during the 2023 Winter Meetings that the team will look internally for their starting third baseman for 2024, both players will look to improve on both sides of the ball to make sure they capture that spot out of spring training.