Ed Delany, MMO
We’re going around the horn. We’ve covered catcher, first base, and second base. Now let’s take a look at the candidates at third.
Big League Starter
The Mets don’t have a long-term option currently on their big-league roster but they have a slurry of candidates in the minor leagues. Still, you can’t overlook the guys who have already made it to the show.
With no spring training, new manager Buck Showalter hasn’t said if the Mets are going to have a competition at the hot corner or not. Right now let’s just assume they will and go down the list of likeliest candidates to start on opening day barring injury.
Eduardo Escobar signed a two-year deal with the Mets before the lockout and will be the Mets starting third baseman after coming off an All-Star season in 2021. Escobar rebounded from a rough 2020 to bat .253/.314/.472 across 146 games with the Diamondbacks and Brewers. Escobar hit 28 home runs and drove in 90 runners.
Escobar’s best season was 2018 when he was traded halfway through from the Twins to the D-backs. Escobar had a career-high 119 OPS+ and a career-high .334 on-base percentage. He has 30+ home run potential, hitting 35 home runs in 2019, and interestingly led the majors with 10 triples that same season.
Important to the Mets will be Escobar’s ability to stay on the field. He’s played in 151, 158, 54, 146 games the last four seasons. After 2021 when the trio of Jonathan Villar, J.D. Davis, and Luis Guillorme, couldn’t stay healthy at the same time it will be vital to have consistency at the position.
Big League Depth
Despite his defensive deficiencies, the Mets still rolled with J.D. Davis as their starter at third base in 2021. Davis was hampered by injuries to his wrist throughout the year and is one of the likeliest trade candidates in the majors. He can still be a quality bat (remember he hit .307 in 140 games in 2019) but his best role might be off the bench.
Swiss-army knife Luis Guillorme is the best defensive option but it comes with the least powerful bat. Guillorme should see time at third, shortstop, and second base entering his age 27 season.
Jeff McNeil could always be an emergency option with 46 games at third base in his four seasons but the Mets seem more inclined to stick him at a corner outfield spot if second base isn’t open.
Upper Minors Depth
The only upper minors depth option on the 40-man roster currently is Travis Blankenhorn. He’s a utilityman with 26 career games in the majors. The hope is Blankenhorn remains in Syracuse the entire season.
Top Prospects
The top prospect position in the organization is third base with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Mets fans already envision Baty as the next David Wright and are clamoring to see Vientos take the jump to the next level and turn into a major-league capable batsman.
Baty and Vientos are only a month apart in age but Vientos is currently at the higher level. Vientos is expected to begin the season in Triple-A after 11 games at the level in 2021 where he hit .278/.395/.583. He hit three home runs in his limited time and 22 home runs in 72 games at Binghamton.
Baty split 2021 between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. He crushed High-A pitching for a 145 wRC+ but dipped a little in 40 games at Double-A. Encouragingly, even though Baty’s power dipped he kept nearly identical walk and strikeout percentages between the levels.
The Mets technically lost Jaylen Palmer at the position. He’s still with the organization but they now view him as an outfielder and not at third base. He’ll be in Brooklyn this season. A 22nd round pick in 2018, Palmer has vaulted himself up Mets prospect lists. He struggled heavily moving from St. Lucie to Brooklyn, striking out 38.5% of the time in the borough.
