PORT ST. LUCIE — Eric Chavez, a winner of six Gold Gloves at third base believes Brett Baty “absolutely” will be a major league third baseman.

The Mets’ bench coach, Chavez sees some of himself in the top prospect, whose bat has looked more advanced than his defense.

Chavez remembers when the “all hit, no glove” label was attached to him in his early years with the Athletics after he debuted at age 20. Chavez needed to work on his footwork, his throwing accuracy and everything that could make him playable at a position he said “is one of the most difficult on the field.”

He got the reps and weathered the bobbles, with 18 errors in 2000 before he won his first Gold Glove the following season en route to establishing himself as the best third baseman in the league.

As Chavez watches Baty’s ups and downs through a camp in which the 23-year-old is crushing pitches and too often booting grounders, he believes he has seen this before — and seen the same work ethic.

“I see that same determination in him,” Chavez said Wednesday before the Mets lost, 2-0, to Team Nicaragua at Clover Park, as Baty went 0-for-2. “It’s, ‘I’m going to work extremely hard regardless of what people say, and I’m going to prove everybody wrong.’ ”

The biggest question for the Mets will be when Baty can be trusted to prove those doubters wrong.

Baty, who started at third base in the exhibition, will get plenty of spring time with Eduardo Escobar playing with Team Venezuela. In 11 Grapefruit League games, Baty has gone 9-for-21 with a home run and double, showing the powerful bat that got its first taste of the majors last season. The most interesting battle in camp is at third base, though the veteran Escobar is the heavy favorite.

Chavez believes Baty, who has a solid arm, just needs more experience to grow into the defender he can be.

“I think it’s just depth perception and seeing the ball all the way in [to the glove],” said Baty, who has been leaning on Chavez for advice — and Mets transactional updates — for months.

It was Chavez who talked to Baty after reports surfaced that the Mets had struck a deal with Carlos Correa, a superstar who projected immediately as the club’s present and future at third base.

Baty began mentally preparing to learn other positions, perhaps left field.

“I just wanted him to know with the Correa thing going on: ‘I get it. I understand the position that you’re in,’ ” Chavez said. “ ‘Worry about yourself. Take care of what you can take care of. You’re going to have a really good career. You’re going to make a lot of money. Just be patient with it.’ ”

Baty only had to be patient for a few days, as Correa failed the physical and the Mets pulled out of the deal.

“It was good to have him in my corner,” Baty said of Chavez. “They were saying there was going to be an opportunity even if we sign Correa.”

The path has been cleared for Baty, a first-round pick in 2019, to prove he belongs both in the majors and with the Mets. The 34-year-old Escobar is the incumbent with a lower ceiling than Baty. Mark Vientos, who himself has looked like a defensive liability at third, could develop into a threat, too.

But when Chavez watches Baty, he sees some of his past and perhaps some of the Mets’ future.

“He just needs to convince himself that he can play third base. We can do all the talking and work with him. But unless you’ve convinced yourself as a player,” Chavez said, trailing off. “I was trying to tell him: It took me a really long time. I made tons of errors in the minor leagues. All the way into my third year, there were times where I didn’t want the ball hit to me — that was at the major league level.

“It just takes time.”