After designating reliever Jorge Lopez for assignment after his ejection and glove throw into the stands, the New York Mets sent starter Christian Scott and third baseman Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. They also called up shortstop Jose Iglesias and right-handed pitcher Daniel Nunez, designated catcher Omar Narvaez for assignment, and acquired catcher Luis Torrens in a trade with the New York Yankees for cash considerations.
Scott getting sent to Triple-A is surprising since he was having a good season and has been a bright spot for the Mets. He had a 3.90 ERA in five starts with 25 strikeouts and six walks. The good news for Scott is he’s expected to be back in the majors soon. While there’s no estimated timeline for Scott’s return, I think that he’ll return in a very short period. I think he’ll be back by mid-June at the latest but probably earlier.
This is the second straight year that Baty has been sent down. Baty has struggled a bit this season as he’s hitting .225/.304/.325 with four home runs. He has been striking out a lot (24.9% strikeout rate), doesn’t hit the ball with a lot of power (average exit velocity of 86.4 MPH), and hits the ball into the ground (53.7% ground ball rate). While in Triple-A, he will improve his offensive and defensive consistency, but he needs to work on his hitting the most.
“Not an easy decision,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But it’s time for him to go down there and continue to get some playing time, continue to get reps, continue to develop, and then he’ll be back here. And we told him that.”
With Baty in Triple-A, Mark Vientos will play third base. Vientos is the best guy to play third with Baty being sent down. This season Vientos is hitting .295/.354/.591 with three homeruns. Iglesias will be the backup infielder, which the Mets didn’t have until now.
Nunez returns to the Mets for his fourth stint with the team this season. He has given up three runs across five outings this year. Acquiring Torrens is good for the Mets since Narvaez had been struggling, hitting .154/.191/.185 this season. Torrens had a .807 OPS with the Yankees Triple-A Scranton affiliate and is considered a solid catcher and has a good arm. Torrens will compete with Tomas Nido to be the backup catcher since Francisco Alvarez, the starting catcher, is expected to return from injury in mid-June.
All these moves are good for the Mets except the Scott move. Moving Scott down when he’s having a good season makes no sense to me. Vientos playing third base is what the Mets need right now with Baty struggling. Vientos is better than Baty at the dish and in the field right now and that’s why he’ll be playing third base. Adding Torrens will provide depth at the catcher position and Torrens will probably be the backup catcher when Alvarez returns.
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