WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Brett Baty was back at third base for the Mets on Tuesday against the Astros, a position he was expected to take last season, but now won’t see much of after the emergence of Mark Vientos.
So if Baty is going to play a role on this year’s team, his versatility will be key.
He’s played at second — and taken grounders for a day at shortstop.
“I enjoy bouncing around,” Baty said after going 1-for-3 in a 7-4 loss to Houston at Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches. “I feel like I embraced it right away. It’s fun to play anywhere. I just want to get on the field and help this team win.”
To do that, Baty will have to produce more at the plate than he’s done so far in the majors.
And this spring, his locker is right next to Juan Soto’s at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.
Because the superstar Soto plays mostly home games and Baty — trying to make the team — plays primarily on the road, the two haven’t gotten a chance to work much together.
Still, the lefty-swinging Baty has tried to take as much as possible from Soto, who is famous for his preparation.
“I’ve asked him a few things about hitting and the drills he does and he’s been great,” Baty said. “He does one drill where he hits the ball with the knob of his bat and he told me he did that to be more direct to the ball. It makes sense and it shows you why he’s so good.”
If Baty does take an infield spot on the roster, where he’s currently in a battle with Luisangel Acuña and Donovan Walton, Baty said he expects to pick Soto’s brain more.
“Anyone can gain something from being around a guy like that,” Baty said. “Any time you have greatness and talent around you in the clubhouse, you can learn as much as you want. You can just learn from watching them work on their defense, like with Lindor, or taking BP.”
Speaking of Lindor, before missing 10 games at short last season with a back issue, he sat out just seven games the previous two seasons.
The Mets expect more of that durability from him again this season, but they’ll still need someone to be ready to fill in on occasion.
With the loss of Nick Madrigal, possibly for the season with a fractured shoulder suffered this spring, the Mets don’t have a true backup shortstop.
That’s probably not Baty just yet, as he’s only taken grounders the one time this spring, and Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday he plans on playing Baty strictly at third and second this spring.
Mendoza mentioned Jeff McNeil as someone who could fill in if necessary and Baty said he’d be up for the challenge if asked.
Acuña, who turns 23 Wednesday, started 10 games at short for the Mets when Lindor went down late last year and Walton played there Tuesday and hit a grand slam.
Walton, 30, has experience at short in his brief time in the majors over parts of five seasons.
Mendoza praised Walton’s left-handed bat and control of the strike zone.
“He’s a pretty good defender and has been in the game quite a bit now,” Mendoza said of Walton, who appeared in nine games with the Giants last season. “He knows how to play the game.”
But there’s no doubt Baty and Acuña have higher upsides and after struggling a year ago and losing the third base job to Vientos, Baty has another chance to impact the Mets.
Last season, Baty started 27 games at second for Triple-A Syracuse, the first time he’d played the position in the pros.
“I’m comfortable there now,” Baty said. “I just want to keep getting better.”
