Mets sending Brett Baty and Christian Scott to Triple-A Syracuse

The Mets are sending Brett Baty and Christian Scott to Triple-A Syracuse.

Infielder Jose Iglesias and reliever Dedniel Nunez are coming up to replace Baty and Scott on the roster.

Scott's stint in the minors is expected to be brief, per multiple reports, and is due in part to the team's upcoming trip to London for a two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, which will be bracketed by two days off beforehand and another upon the Mets' return.

Because of all the days off, the Mets will not need a full starting rotation again until the middle of June.

The Mets sending Scott down for a bit also allows them to manage his innings.

He has thrown 27.2 innings in five big league starts after tossing 25.1 earlier this season for Syracuse. He threw a career-high 87.2 innings last season across three minor league levels, meaning he could possibly be capped around 125 innings this season.

As far as Baty, his demotion does not come as a surprise.

President of baseball operations David Stearns said earlier this week that Baty and Mark Vientos both being on the 26-man roster was not sustainable.

"At some point, we're gonna have to make some decisions on our roster," Stearns said, noting that a backup middle infielder would be needed. That middle infielder is now up, in the form of Iglesias.

"Unfortunately, it's sort of the reality of roster constraints that we have," Stearns explained. "I'd love to keep both of those guys in the big leagues, and continue to give them both reps at the major league level. We also have to put together a roster that functions as best as it possibly can."

After a rough 2023 on both sides of the ball, Baty has been a plus defensively at third base this season, but his offense has not come around.

In 169 plate appearances over 49 games, Baty has hit .225/.304/.325 with four home runs and three doubles.

Over 168 games and 600 plate appearances in parts of three big league seasons, he has slashed just .214/.281/.325.

With Baty now in the minors, Vientos will take over as the regular third baseman.

In 14 games this season, Vientos is hitting .295/.354/.591 with three homers and four doubles.