The Mets aren’t quite ready to trust the kids, yet.
At the start of the stretch run and after Luis Guillorme for at least a month with a strained groin, the team did not call up their No. 2 prospect in Brett Baty or their No. 5 prospect in Mark Vientos — both of whom are listed as third basemen.
“We took everything under consideration. I am not going to get into the two or three Zoom calls,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ll see where the next few days take us.”
Instead, the Mets called up veteran journeyman infielder Deven Marrero — opting to go with defense rather than a potential offensive spark.
Marrero can play second base, third base, and shortstop well, providing the same sort of defensive versatility that Guillorme provides.
That appears to be the priority of Showalter and the Mets at this time given the uncertainty surrounding the fielding abilities of both Baty and Vientos.
However, Marrero’s .236 average and .683 OPS doesn’t inspire much confidence offensively.
Baty and Vientos have certainly put up the offensive numbers to at least garner some sort of consideration for a big-league call-up.
In the six games since his promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, Baty is slashing .364/.462/.364 — this after mashing 19 home runs with a .950 OPS over 89 games with Double-A Binghamton.
Vientos has an .871 OPS this season with Syracuse.
The move is a clear indication that the Mets believe their offense can continue scoring at an elite clip, ranking fourth in Major League Baseball in runs scored per game this season.
It is worth noting, however, that they have scored one run in three of their last four games. Whether it’s an anomaly or a sign of things slowing down remains to be seen.
New York is hard-pressed for third-base options with Guillorme going down while Eduardo Escobar continues to deal with a left-side issue that is forcing the veteran switch hitter to only bat from the left side.
