Since sending Bretty Baty to the minors on Aug. 7 following several monopoly moves at the trade deadline, manager Buck Showalter has been keeping an eye on the Mets’ young third baseman.
“I watch, you know, I look at that most nights. He’s doing well,” Showalter said in regard to reading the minor league reports before Tuesday night’s game against the Pirates.
Baty’s bat has found some rhythm since arriving in Syracuse after going 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts during the Mets’ disastrous 0-6 road trip through Kansas City and Baltimore.
In the first four games Baty played since returning to Triple-A, he hit .250 (4-for-16) with two home runs, five RBIs and three walks.
His last home run before going deep on Thursday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was on July 19 against the White Sox.
Baty hit a grand slam on Tuesday night in the bottom of the third inning against the Columbus Clippers.
It marked his second grand slam this season in the minors — the first coming against the Worcester Red Sox on April 1.
“He’s doing well,” Showalter said. “Reports back are good and obviously, they didn’t play [Monday]. So, we’ll see if it continues down that path.”
Before the 23-year-old was called up in April, his hot bat was enticing to the Mets.
He hit .433 with a 1.508 OPS, five home runs and 15 RBIs over his first nine games.
After 86 games in the majors this season, Baty hit .216 with seven homers, 27 RBIs, with 86 strikeouts and a .620 OPS.
“You’re under a microscope up here, so you have got to be engaged from pitch 1 to the end of the game,” Baty said before leaving for the minors. “That is something I have got to work on and something I have got to learn, so I am going to do my best at it.”
Baty’s return to Syracuse isn’t something Showalter plans to be permanent. Rather, he views it as an opportunity for Baty to regroup and adjust before returning to the bigs.
“I look at it not as failure, I look at it as a delay, just taking a little timeout and kind of restart and rebooting, so to speak,” Showalter said. “I think he’s handling it real well, emotionally, mentally. And I think that break has meant as much to him as even the different level of play.”
