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A decision that was rather simple earlier in the season was “not an easy decision” on Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Sure, the Mets were facing a lefty in Bailey Falter and wanted to stuff righties into the lineup.

But it has been increasingly difficult to remove Brett Baty’s lefty bat from the lineup.

Baty was out of the starting lineup for the 4-0 loss to the Pirates, delaying adding much evidence toward answering the biggest question around the club at the moment: Is this a long-awaited breakout or merely a blip from a top prospect who has yet to taste prolonged success at the major league level?

“When [struggling top prospects] have that level of talent, they’re generally going to figure it out at some point and have some success at the major league level,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said from Citi Field. “I think we’re seeing that with Brett right now.”

The Mets have seen a different Baty for several weeks, albeit sporadically because of his trips back and forth from Syracuse.

After another slow start — he hit .139 with a .361 OPS after 12 games, a high-upside player who really had only flashed his downside at the big league level in 2022, 2023 and ’24 — it is as if a lightbulb has appeared over Baty’s head.

He was excellent for a week, hitting a homer and two doubles during a seven-game span in which he batted .333 with a 1.040 OPS.

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For his good work, he was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse because Jeff McNeil’s return caused a roster squeeze.

That squeeze dissipated when Jesse Winker suffered a strained oblique, and the 25-year-old Baty returned with the same hot bat.

Baty — who went 0-for-2 after entering Wednesday’s loss in the seventh as a pinch hitter for Tyrone Taylor — has gone 6-for-19 (.316) with four home runs in seven games since the most recent call-up.

In all, it was just a 14-game span that served as encouragement for a once promising prospect who showed few flashes of hope in his first 181 major league games.

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Stearns said he has been seeing the same Baty whom he had seen at the lower level.

“It’s the same quality of at-bats that we have seen in Syracuse since I’ve been here,” Stearns said of an infielder with an .898 OPS in 97 career Triple-A games. “If you go to catch a week of Brett Baty in Syracuse, you can very easily just run into a week like we’ve just seen here at the big leagues.

“So why are we seeing it now at the big league level? I don’t know that I have the definitive answer for that. If I had the definitive answer, we probably would have implemented that a long time ago.”

It is too short a span to anoint Baty a full-time, useful major leaguer, but the way he has thrived has been encouraging.

It is not as if he has blooped his way to a strong batting average; the largest problem Baty has faced for years has been balls heading south off his bat, even well-struck batted balls frequently becoming outs because he found dirt and not grass (or seats).

In his first 12 games this year, about 52 percent of his batted balls resulted in ground balls.

In the 14 games since, that number has fallen to 38 percent.

He pinch hit in Wednesday’s seventh inning and blistered a pitch — but right into the glove of pitcher Tanner Rainey.

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In the ninth, he flied out to the center field wall.

It is ultimately Stearns’ job to decide whether the upturn is an oasis or a mirage.

While Mark Vientos got the start at third and Luisangel Acuña at second against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the Mets will have more chances to see whether that lightbulb remains on.

“There are probably a variety of reasons for [Baty’s hot bat],” Stearns said. “Some of it: confidence; some of it: he’s a really talented baseball player; some of it: preparation. And it kind of all combines, and we’ve got a pretty special week for him.”