Brett Baty has quiet debut at second base in Mets win

Brett Baty got the chance to play at second base for the first time in the big leagues on Friday night in Houston and had a quiet night.

Thanks to Tylor Megill and four relievers out of the Mets’ bullpen, there was little action save one line drive on the right side of the infield as they struck out 10 batters in a 3-1 win over the Astros.

Baty, who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout at the plate, was forced to make a tough play, turning a 5-4-3 double-play to end the fifth inning. His throw from the bag at second was in time, but the out was saved by Pete Alonso making a good stretch to dig the ball out.

Of course, there was one play to be made on the Mets’ right side of the infield, but it happened to come in the eighth inning after Baty was lifted in the top of the seventh for Luisangel Acuña to pinch hit.

With one out and a runner on first, Yordan Alvarez yanked a ball in the hole and Acuña made a diving stop to his left before jumping up and tossing the ball to Alonso at first. Carlos Mendoza called it “a sneaky good play.”

While the Astros’ left-hander Steven Okert led to the decision to lift Baty in a game the Mets led, Mendoza said inserting Acuña for defense in late-inning situations is something they may do.

“Even though Brett has been doing a really good job, we’re looking at a plus, plus defender that’s played the position a lot more,” he said. “There’s gonna be times where Baty stays in there, but today, I thought once they brought that lefty in, I thought it was the right thing to do.”

(Okert got Acuña on strikes to end the inning).

Of course, late-inning decisions like this will all depend on who you are facing and the situation of the other team’s bullpen, Mendoza added. 

Despite the late change, the plan is for Baty to get a lot of time at second. The manager’s message to him after he was told he would be on the roster to start the season: “Be yourself.”

"Same thing that you're doing here. Whenever we get to the regular season, just continue to be yourself. Play your game,” he said ahead of Friday’s game. “Don’t feel like you have to get four hits, three hits every day to be in the lineup the next day. Let us make those decisions; just control what you can control. 

“Trust the work, he’s put in a lot of work this offseason. We saw results in spring training. Now it’s up to him to go out there and continue to be himself and trust the work.”

Vientos ➡️ Baty ➡️ Alonso for the double play!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/gD2K6xTw12— SNY (@SNYtv) March 29, 2025

Luisangel Acuña makes the diving stop and throws to first for the out!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/3GB7R47TPF— SNY (@SNYtv) March 29, 2025

Mendoza was encouraged by the work he saw Baty do to improve during the spring.

“The communication from pitch to pitch, there’s a lot that goes into it when you’re playing middle infield as opposed to when you’re playing third base,” he said about the areas of improvement. “There’s more communication with your shortstop, with the first baseman, with the pitcher. I think he did a really good job going to the right places when he needed to with cuts and relays, covering a base where it was a first base steal coverage.

“The range, going to his right especially, he’s made some plays that are not easy and then throwing with a different angle. He did a lot of that and we’re encouraged by that.” 

The key factor the Mets are looking for from him is seeing that he is slowing the game down and moving on to the next play if mistakes occur.

“[The] game is gonna be fast. And I think it starts with the preparation, it starts with the anticipation: Knowing what to do with the baseball before the plays happen," Mendoza said. "That’s what good infielders do. And, especially when you’re playing up the middle. He did a little bit of that, now he’s gotta go out there and do it.

“I think [Francisco] Lindor’s gonna help him, [Mike Sarbaugh] in between innings, myself, we’ll be there for him.”

Mendoza said there will be some “give and take” with Baty as he gets to learn the intricacies of the new position during big league action and will, of course, likely go through a rough patch.

“I think having the feel for the situation, but there’s gonna be things that need to be addressed right away, we will address them right away,” the manager said. 

“The more you play, you’ll learn,” he continued. “And then the Q and A: ‘What are you thinking here? What were you thinking? What was the thought process before the play happened? Did you think about this?’

“Those are some of the discussions that we’ll have and I know [Sarbaugh] is constantly have these conversations with the guys.”