The Mets made a flurry of roster moves Friday, with none bigger than optioning Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse.
The lefty-hitting Baty won the Mets’ starting third baseman job out of spring training but batted .225 with four home runs in 151 at-bats.
With the Mets scheduled to face four left-handed pitchers in their next six games, they deemed it the right time to send Baty, 24, down and call up utility infielder Jose Iglesias.
“There wasn’t going to be much playing time for Brett,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. “Not an easy decision, but it’s time for him to go down there and continue to get some playing time, continue to get some reps, continue to develop, and then he’ll be back here. We told him that.”
Friday’s roster moves also saw the Mets send Christian Scott, their top pitching prospect, to Triple-A and call up reliever Dedniel Núñez. They also acquired veteran catcher Luis Torrens for cash considerations in a trade with the Yankees and designated backup backstop Omar Narvaez for assignment.
A first-round pick in 2019, Baty established himself as one of baseball’s top prospects before he made his MLB debut in 2022. Baty is a career .290 hitter with an .897 OPS in 986 minor-league at-bats but has hit .214 with a .606 OPS over parts of three MLB seasons.
“It’s not an easy transition,” Mendoza said. “We know it takes time to develop players at this level.”
Mark Vientos, 24, is now set to be the Mets’ primary third baseman. After beginning the season at Triple-A, the righty-hitting Vientos entered Friday with a .295 average and three home runs in 44 at-bats across two stints in the majors this year.
Iglesias will also receive playing time at third base, Mendoza said. The 34-year-old Iglesias got the start at second base on Friday.
Known for his defense, Iglesias hit .279 over his first 11 MLB seasons before joining the Mets’ organization in the offseason. Iglesias had not appeared in an MLB game since 2022 with the Rockies.
“I feel good enough to play at any level,” Iglesias said Friday. “Definitely, it’s been tough for me and for my family, but it’s totally in the past. I’m very excited today. I feel like a rookie right now.”
Scott, 24, won the Mets’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year honor in 2023 and boasts a 3.90 ERA over five MLB starts since making his big-league debut in early May. He limited the Diamondbacks to two runs over five innings Thursday in the Mets’ 3-2 win at Citi Field.
The Mets deployed Scott as part of a six-man rotation but are scheduled to have six off days between Thursday and May 27, including three around their two-game series against the Phillies in London next weekend.
“He’s a big-league pitcher,” Mendoza said of Scott. “The way he’s handled himself here, the performance. … It’s nothing more than where we are on the schedule. Off days coming up here, we don’t need a six-man rotation. We needed a bullpen arm. He’ll back up here, and he understood that.”
Narvaez, meanwhile, hit .154 without a home run in 65 at-bats this season, though he did deliver a walk-off single in Sunday’s come-from-behind victory over the Giants.
Torrens batted .279 with five home runs and 19 RBI with the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year. He is a career .227 hitter over six MLB seasons with the Padres, Mariners and Cubs.
Friday’s roster moves came two days after the Mets placed struggling closer Edwin Diaz on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement, and a day after they designated reliever Jorge López for assignment. López tossed his glove into the stands after being ejected from Wednesday’s loss to the Dodgers, then raised eyebrows with a profanity-filled media address afterward.
ALVAREZ UPDATE
Francisco Alvarez’s first rehab game since tearing a ligament in his left thumb went about as well as possible.
The power-hitting catcher clubbed a three-run home run during a 1-for-2 performance with Double-A Binghamton on Thursday and caught five innings.
“He came out really good, feeling good,” Mendoza said Friday.
Alvarez, 22, was off Friday but was set to catch seven innings on Saturday. Thursday marked his first game action since April 19.
ALONSO RETURNS TO LINEUP
Pete Alonso was back in the Mets’ starting lineup Friday as the No. 2 hitter and first baseman, two days after he was hit by a pitch on his right hand.
Alonso left Wednesday’s game after being plunked by a fastball from the Dodgers’ James Paxton, but imaging came back clean.
He did not start Thursday but doubled as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and stayed in on defense to play first base.
“I feel like I definitely dodged a bullet,” Alonso said after Thursday’s 3-2 win against Arizona.
