Friday marked five years since David Wright’s last game with the Mets.
And since then, they haven’t found a replacement.
The production at the position was so bad in 2023, the Mets probably should have seen if the 40-year-old had a few good at-bats left in him during one of his trips to Citi Field this season.
As it is, six different players started at third for the Mets in 2023.
The results have been ugly, with the team ranking second-to-last in OPS from the position (.592), outdone only by the hapless A’s (.560).
To summarize, the Mets opened the season with Eduardo Escobar at third and gave up on that plan three weeks into the regular season, pivoting to Brett Baty.
Baty stayed there consistently until early August, when he was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse, replaced by Mark Vientos.
Vientos turned into light-hitting journeyman Jonathan Arauz before Baty’s return at the beginning of September.
Mauricio got his four-game tryout there in the middle of the month and they’ve stuck with Baty down the stretch.
No one, clearly, has staked a claim to the position.
Baty, in his latest time at third, has been no better than earlier in the season.
Since being recalled on Sept. 1, the lefty-swinging Baty has just a .540 OPS and a whopping 20 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances.
Mixed in there has been his third five-game hitless streak since July.
But some scouts believe without an offseason move, Baty remains the team’s best option — mostly because he has nowhere else to play.
“There’s still potential, but it’s probably good for him that the season’s almost over, because I don’t see it getting much better without some kind of reset,” one American League scout said.
Another AL scout said they would have Mauricio work more at the position, where he’s played a handful of games in winter ball, as well as the minors.
“I think playing [Mauricio] at second has messed him up at the plate,” the scout said of Mauricio, who caught people’s attention by hitting lasers in his first weeks in the majors, but is just 3-for-29 with a homer, a walk and 10 strikeouts in his last seven games.
And Vientos has been used primarily as a DH over the last month and has an OPS of .818 in his last 24 games.
Like the rest, though, Vientos hasn’t hit with any consistency.
“They need one of these guys to break out,” the first AL scout said.
Though Francisco Alvarez has proven to be at least capable on both sides of the ball, there’s no indication Baty, Vientos, or Mauricio have a permanent place in Queens.
“That’s what I’d be disappointed by,” said the second scout. “Even in a season like this, you’d like to be able to learn something about what these guys can do going forward and I don’t think you have any more answers than you did before.”
On the free agent market, Matt Chapman will be available, as will Jeimer Candelario and the Mets will have to determine whether to enter those waters or stay in-house.