With spring training underway for the New York Yankees, the team still might be thinking about making some potential upgrades before the start of the year.
It has been a strong offseason for the Yankees by addressing a lot of their needs either in free agency or on the trade market.
However, despite being a contender already, they do have one glaring hole.
Third base has been highly talked about for the Yankees, and for good reason.
Currently, the two players with the best chance of starting on Opening Day at the position are DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera.
Neither of these options is ideal, but ways to fix it at this point are rather limited.
But perhaps another trade could solve their problems.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report spoke about New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty being a potential option for New York to pursue prior to the season beginning.
Due to the emergence of Mark Vientos in 2024, Baty has fallen out of favor with the Mets. The former first-round pick has had opportunities, but hasn’t lived up to his potential just yet.
In 2023, he got a good amount of playing time at third base. In 108 games, he slashed .212/.275/.323 with nine home runs and 34 RBI.
With Pete Alonso coming back to play first base, the Mets will be able to keep Vientos at the hot corner for now, resulting in nowhere for Baty to play.
Even though things might not have panned out for the talented youngster so far, he is just 25 years old and could certainly turn things around.
For the Yankees, while Baty isn’t currently an improvement on paper, he would at least be another option for them who also has upside.
During his last stint in the minors in 2022, the left-handed slugger slashed .315/.410/.533 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI.
Those stats in the minors made it easy to see why he was allowed to start in 2023.
There is reason to believe Baty can become a good player in the Majors. Due to his struggles and diminishing value as a prospect, New York likely wouldn’t have to give up much to acquire him.
The Mets should be willing to entertain offers for him with third base being set for years to come with Vientos.
Trades between the crosstown rivals aren’t all that common, but Baty makes a lot of sense for the Yankees.
