McNeil--><--Baty

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Baty optioned to Syracuse as McNulty returns

[Gwreck]

Also Senger for Alvarez (which of course is no surprise).



Baty's a nice guy but he's just never hit.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Baty optioned to Syracuse as McNulty returns

Of course. This was so fucking obvious. The Mets were gonna decide based on who they think can help the Mets the most right now. The Mets are playing for a first round bye and so there's no margin for error. No contender can afford to carry a career negative WARer with a lifetime batting average hovering around the Mendoza Line. Whether Baty might be better than McNeil four years from now is beside the point.


=roger_that post_id=190277 time=1745236273 user_id=128]


As to the long run, we must consider the possibility that McNeil's on the downside of his career, maybe closer to the end of the road than we like to think. Personally, I think he's still a decent player--maybe not a contender for the BA championship any more....

[roger_that]

Not too concerned, although they're now top heavy with corner outfielders. I'd rather have seen Azocar or a reliever sent down instead of Baty, of course, but this may just be a temporary move until they need another infielder , allowing Baty to get some playing time for the next few weeks. He'll be back.

[batmagadanleadoff]

... but this may just be a temporary move until they need another infielder , allowing Baty to get some playing time for the next few weeks.

Because Baty wouldn't have gotten any playing time if he remained with the big club? Because Baty would've been a "dead-ender" lingering for "weeks on the bench "?

[smg58]

I don't see the benefit of keeping Azocar and only five infielders, especially when two of the infielders are very good defensive outfielders. Maybe you'd prefer Baty getting regular ABs in AAA, but right now he's the only other healthy infielder on the 40.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=smg58 post_id=190733 time=1745584619 user_id=62]
I don't see the benefit of keeping Azocar and only five infielders, especially when two of the infielders are very good defensive outfielders. Maybe you'd prefer Baty getting regular ABs in AAA, but right now he's the only other healthy infielder on the 40.

[Lefty Specialist]

Baty's a phone call away at Syracuse if needed. Not concerned about backup infielders- Lindor and Alonso play every day.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Baty's a phone call away at Syracuse if needed. Not concerned about backup infielders- Lindor and Alonso play every day.

Exactly. And at Syracuse, Baty could play every day without killing the big club if he continues to play like horseshit.

[roger_that]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Not concerned about backup infielders

Wait until it costs you a game. Then it's "Oh, well, couldn't be helped."

[batmagadanleadoff]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Not concerned about backup infielders Wait until it costs you a game. Then it's "Oh, well, couldn't be helped."

And how many games has Baty's cumulative horseshit presence on the big league roster cost the Mets already? Funny how the Mets remarkable turnaround last season from laughing stock to best team in baseball just happened to coincide with Baty's demotion to AAA and Vientos taking back his starting role. Or was that really a coincidence ?



Because, oh my, Baty hasn't cost the Mets any games. He's been a real asset here with his lifetime negative WAR and all.

[roger_that]

The intelligent question to ask at this point is: have the Mets lost patience with Baty? If they're willing, as some have suggested, to deal him off after he puts in another strong showing at AAA, I think they're harming themselves, as they have in the past, dealing (or dumping) other promising infielders for not much in return, usually veterans who had a little (sometimes nothing) left in the tank. I'm thinking Justin Turner, Melvin Mora, Jeff Kent, Gregg Jefferies, Jose Oquendo, Marco Scutaro, Ty Wigginton, all of whom went on to perform as regulars, most as All-Stars, after the Mets lost patience waiting for them to deliver. You need to ask yourself “Why do other teams tend to snatch such players up?” Answers are: Because the cost of doing so isn't very great, and because all of these players have exhausted the Mets' patience, neither of which is a convincing reason for the Mets to let them go cheap. People will sometimes claim “change of scenery” or “different managerial approach” as a good reason, but I've never bought that. I think other teams are willing to see the potential these younger players have that they haven't fulfilled yet, and it's a way for them to pick up a potential star in exchange for very little (or just a few $$$$). What I wouldn't give to have Armstrong-Crow in CF for the Mets right now.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=roger_that post_id=190745 time=1745593968 user_id=128]
I think they're harming themselves, as they have in the past, dealing (or dumping) other promising infielders for not much in return, usually veterans who had a little (sometimes nothing) left in the tank. I'm thinking Justin Turner, Melvin Mora, Jeff Kent, Gregg Jefferies, Jose Oquendo, Marco Scutaro, Ty Wigginton, all of whom went on to perform as regulars, most as All-Stars, after the Mets lost patience waiting for them to deliver.

[ashie62]

Azocar is the only guy that can play center, not counting Nimmo etc



For now anyway

[roger_that]

Well, of course, there is Taylor. And I think Nimmo would do okay in CF, based on the athleticism he displayed in LF vs. the Phillies. And McNeil has been taking some reps in CF, the quality of which has yet to be determined. And Acuna has some experience out there as well. So it's hardly "We depend on Azocar to play CF for us."

[ashie62]

Azocar is the primary option I CF today other than Taylor



I'd love to see Acuna in CF

[metirish]

Baty got back......per Martino

[roger_that]

Makes all the sense in the world.

[roger_that]

One of the names I was trying to remember re: Baty was that of Hank Sauer, who was not regarded by the Reds as a MLB hitter though they kept on giving him brief chances to show his stuff. Sauer became a regular at age 31, was swapped out to the Cubs, and hit a ton of HRs in his 30s, winning an MVP Award at age 35. Sometimes you've got to give a guy opportunities to hit when he's demonstrated an ability to hit in the minor leagues: Sauer had a .975 OPS at AAA (Syracuse, as it happens) at ages 28 and 29 before he cracked the MLB lineup.

[Fman99]

One of the names I was trying to remember re: Baty was that of Hank Sauer, who was not regarded by the Reds as a MLB hitter though they kept on giving him brief chances to show his stuff. Sauer became a regular at age 31, was swapped out to the Cubs, and hit a ton of HRs in his 30s, winning an MVP Award at age 35. Sometimes you've got to give a guy opportunities to hit when he's demonstrated an ability to hit in the minor leagues: Sauer had a .975 OPS at AAA (Syracuse, as it happens) at ages 28 and 29 before he cracked the MLB lineup.

A name I know well - his number 9 is retired in Syracuse and there used to be a high end restaurant/lounge in the RF corner named after him (it's now the "Metropolitan Club" I believe).

[ashie62]

It will be interesting to see how Ronny Mauricio plays into this around the trade deadline. I don't see both Baty and Mauricio with the organization together at the start of 2026

[ashie62]

One of the names I was trying to remember re: Baty was that of Hank Sauer, who was not regarded by the Reds as a MLB hitter though they kept on giving him brief chances to show his stuff. Sauer became a regular at age 31, was swapped out to the Cubs, and hit a ton of HRs in his 30s, winning an MVP Award at age 35. Sometimes you've got to give a guy opportunities to hit when he's demonstrated an ability to hit in the minor leagues: Sauer had a .975 OPS at AAA (Syracuse, as it happens) at ages 28 and 29 before he cracked the MLB lineup. A name I know well - his number 9 is retired in Syracuse and there used to be a high end restaurant/lounge in the RF corner named after him (it's now the "Metropolitan Club" I believe).

Who is that?

[stevejrogers]

One of the names I was trying to remember re: Baty was that of Hank Sauer, who was not regarded by the Reds as a MLB hitter though they kept on giving him brief chances to show his stuff. Sauer became a regular at age 31, was swapped out to the Cubs, and hit a ton of HRs in his 30s, winning an MVP Award at age 35. Sometimes you've got to give a guy opportunities to hit when he's demonstrated an ability to hit in the minor leagues: Sauer had a .975 OPS at AAA (Syracuse, as it happens) at ages 28 and 29 before he cracked the MLB lineup. A name I know well - his number 9 is retired in Syracuse and there used to be a high end restaurant/lounge in the RF corner named after him (it's now the "Metropolitan Club" I believe). Who is that?

Hank Sauer

[batmagadanleadoff]

A name I know well - his number 9 is retired in Syracuse and there used to be a high end restaurant/lounge in the RF corner named after him (it's now the "Metropolitan Club" I believe). Who is that? Hank Sauer

Yes, SteveRogers. The Mets should give Brett Baty regular playing time because ... wait for it ... Hank Sauer. On what planet, SteveRogers, does someone who's been as horseshit as Baty has - for four seasons now -- get regular playing time on a pennant contending team? Maybe if Baty was a generational prospect with a Hall of Fame ceiling like Willie Mays or Bryce Harper and right out of the box, he gets to play. And even then, all bets are off after shitting the bed for four years and running. As if there's no downside. What happens if the Mets give Baty another two or three hundred plate appearances and he continues to negative WAR it? When do the Mets decide to either cut ties with Baty or demote him to AAA, where he can get the at-bats he'd need to hopefully, improve his game without hurting the big club? And the thing is that Baty could continue to suck, or he might develop into the next Joe Morgan. Or anything in between. But nobody knows what Baty's baseball future is gonna be. Especially Mr. Hank Sauer. Nobody knows shit. This is all about validating Mr. Hank Sauer's personal hunches.



Hank Sauer. Oh my.

[stevejrogers]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=192116 time=1746821063 user_id=68]
=stevejrogers post_id=192100 time=1746809772 user_id=57]
=ashie62 post_id=192092 time=1746808411 user_id=90]




Who is that?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Hank Sauer Yes, SteveRogers. The Mets should give Brett Baty regular playing time because ... wait for it ... Hank Sauer. On what planet, SteveRogers, does someone who's been as horseshit as Baty has - for four seasons now -- get regular playing time on a pennant contending team? Maybe if Baty was a generational prospect with a Hall of Fame ceiling like Willie Mays or Bryce Harper and right out of the box, he gets to play. And even then, all bets are off after shitting the bed for four years and running. As if there's no downside. What happens if the Mets give Baty another two or three hundred plate appearances and he continues to negative WAR it? When do the Mets decide to either cut ties with Baty or demote him to AAA, where he can get the at-bats he'd need to hopefully, improve his game without hurting the big club? And the thing is that Baty could continue to suck, or he might develop into the next Joe Morgan. Or anything in between. But nobody knows what Baty's baseball future is gonna be. Especially Mr. Hank Sauer. Nobody knows shit. This is all about validating Mr. Hank Sauer's personal hunches. Hank Sauer. Oh my. LOL, I was just answering for FMan the question Ashie asked about the Syracuse player he was talking about.

I know. lol. I wasn't really referring to you when I was referring to you. That "addressing you by your name" thing is a running gag. I simply used your post as a springboard. Your post was convenient because it embedded several other "relevant" posts.



The only reason Baty got any playing time in the majors this season is because of injuries. McNeil was hurt at the start of the season and now Winker's hurt.

[MFS62]

They're going mano-a-mano tonight. Each has a home run.

Later

[metirish]

Baty surely needs to start playing more 3rd? For defense I mean, DH Mark and try and move Marte