Who should Mets' third baseman be in 2024? Breaking down the options

The Mets have serious work to do this offseason when it comes to bolstering the roster, including major rebuilds of the starting rotation and bullpen, adding a starting-caliber outfielder, and finding a legitimate DH.

The third base situation, while in flux, does not fall in the same category.

Entering the 2023 season, the expectation was that Brett Baty would take over at the hot corner at some point, which would possibly be the start of him holding down the position for the next decade.

While Baty got his chance very early thanks to his strong performance in Triple-A and the struggles of Eduardo Escobar, he'll enter the 2024 season as a huge question mark.

In addition to Baty, New York has multiple internal candidates for third base as well as a top prospect whose arrival could create a bit of a logjam on the infield.

So, how should they proceed?

The case against an external candidate

The presence of Baty on a 40-man roster that also includes Ronny Mauricio, Jeff McNeil, and Luisangel Acuña should make it easy for the Mets to pass on external options -- whether via free agency or trade.

It's fair to believe that Baty and Mauricio could battle in spring training for the starting job at third base.

And McNeil, who is able to play third base in addition to second base and both corner outfield spots, is also an option at the hot corner depending on what the Mets do to address the outfield and/or how the Baty/Mauricio situation shakes out.

Additionally, the eventual arrival of Acuña -- though almost certainly not happening on Opening Day -- could crowd the infield.

Once Acuña is up, he'll likely be at second base. And with Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso entrenched at shortstop and first base, respectively, that would leave only one spot on the infield for a glut of players.

As far as going external, even if the Mets decided to do it the list of pending free agents is underwhelming. It's led by Matt Chapman, whose offense has fallen off significantly in the last three seasons.

The case for and against Baty

There's a reason the Mets have long viewed the 23-year-old as their potential third baseman of the future, and that doesn't all evaporate because he had a rough 2023.

During his brief taste of the majors in 2022, Baty looked comfortable at the plate and acquitted himself well, with at-bats often ending with loud contact. But he looked like a different player this past season.

Baty struggled so badly at the plate and in the field over the first four months of the season that the Mets gave him a mental break of sorts from Aug. 7 to Aug. 31, when he was demoted to Triple-A and (unsurprisingly) tore the cover off the ball while there.

But it was unfortunately more of the same from Baty when he returned on Sept. 1 through the end of the season, as he slashed a paltry .200/.221/.293 in 78 plate appearances over 22 games.

A look at Baty's advanced stats shows that he was only decidedly above average in one offensive category -- hard-hit rate. But he didn't barrel balls up often enough and struck out far too often (28 percent of the time) relative to the amount of power he provided.

Baty also had serious trouble getting the ball in the air, with a ground ball rate of 50.4 percent. Elevating the ball was also an issue for him in his short sample in the bigs in 2022 when he hit it on the ground a whopping 56.7 percent of the time.

Entering his age-24 season, there is still plenty of time for him to reach his potential. And there are tons of examples of players who have taken a few years to hit their stride in the majors. But the clock is starting to tick for Baty.

The case for and against Mauricio

Mauricio provided a jolt when he was called up for his Mets debut on Sept. 1.

The 22-year-old announced his presence in his first at-bat, ripping a 117.3 mph double to right field that was the hardest-hit ball by any Met in 2023.

He had hits in 13 of his first 16 games and was slashing .300/.354/.400 entering play on Sept. 21.

Mauricio slowed down from there, though, and began to chase a lot more -- which was something that had been a major concern during his time in the minors. After striking out twice or more in just three of his first 16 games, Mauricio fanned twice or more in six of his final 10.

On the positive side, Mauricio stung the ball throughout his month in the majors, with an average exit velocity of 90.7 mph.

And he made things happen on the bases, swiping seven bags despite not having elite speed.

Mauricio, who spent most of his minor league career at shortstop, also looked comfortable at both second base and third base -- positions he only started to play in 2023.

It's clear that Mauricio is a much more dynamic player than Baty (and most of the other players on the Mets for that matter), but it remains to be seen if he'll get on base enough to be a true starting-caliber option in the majors.

What about Mark Vientos?

The Mets did Vientos no favors for most of the season, giving him sporadic playing time until finally allowing him to get regular at-bats starting on Aug. 1 following the trade deadline sell-off.

Vientos didn't immediately start producing once given a more full-time gig, but something clicked at the end of August.

In 100 plate appearances over 26 games from Aug. 29 through the end of the season, Vientos hit .240/.290/.489 with seven homers.

Strikeouts were still an issue, as Vientos fanned 30 times during the above span, but the power explosion was eye-popping.

The possible problem with Vientos is that he's likely not a sure-handed enough defender at third base to be able to profile as a starter there.

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Because the Mets have a bunch of viable options for third base but no slam dunks, the best play could be having Baty and Mauricio compete for the job in spring training.

The presence and versatility of McNeil allows for a bunch of different infield/outfield configurations, both before and after the arrival of Acuna.

As is noted above, the Mets could be facing a glut on the infield at some point in 2024, but that will likely only be the case if one of Mauricio or Baty proves their mettle at the hot corner.