Eduardo Escobar enjoyed the “unbelievable” energy that came with playing in the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela, but his focus returned Monday to the Mets.
Unlike others returning from the event — Francisco Lindor and Omar Narvaez were also back with the team — Escobar admits he doesn’t know if he’s got the same job as when he departed.It has left third base as maybe the one position to watch with less than a week remaining before the Mets break camp.
Baty owns a .937 OPS in 19 games this spring and has shown a steadiness at the position that could leave team brass with an interesting decision with the 26-man roster. One possibility would be inserting Escobar into a right-handed DH role and giving the 23-year-old Baty an opportunity.
“I didn’t know what the lineup was going to be every single day, but I tried to treat every day like Opening Day and play hard and do my thing,” Baty said. “I got some starts just because [Escobar] was away and I feel like I played pretty well: I had competitive ABs and was pretty consistent over at third, so I am just going to try to continue that.”Baty cautioned that there’s still over a week remaining before the Mets have to finalize rosters and he can’t afford complacency.
“These guys are the future of the team,” Escobar said. “They are doing a great job and I am so happy these two kids are doing a great job in spring training.”As much as manager Buck Showalter would have preferred having his starters in camp all spring, the silver lining was receiving an opportunity to evaluate his high-end rookies. Francisco Alvarez, who received chances behind the plate with Narvaez away, also falls into that category.
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