ATLANTA — The Mets learned Monday they will be without one of their key infielders for much of the remainder of the season. However, they didn’t see this news as a nudge to call top prospects Brett Baty or Mark Vientos.
Luis Guillorme is expected to miss four to six weeks due to a moderate left groin strain, leaving him out for at least half of the remaining regular season. To replace him, the team called up veteran Triple-A Syracuse infielder Deven Marrero. The 31-year-old Marrero is capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop at a high level, which is why the Mets chose him over Baty or Vientos.
According to several people who are familiar with the situation, the Mets are not yet comfortable with Baty or Vientos playing defensively in the major leagues. A source even went as far as to say he doesn’t expect any of the contestants to show up in the majors this season.
“Of course it’s hard not to do it [think about it], especially when you’re just one step away from it,” Vientos, the organization’s fifth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, said in Syracuse last week. “But I’m just trying to focus on the little things.”
“If it happens, I’d go up there and do the same thing I’m doing down here: do my day job and try to be the best baseball player I can be for the team,” said Baty, Pipeline’s second- ranked Mets prospect and MLB’s #18 overall prospect. “But I’m not really concentrating on that at the moment. I’m just trying to get better.”
If the Mets have any prospect of offensive support down the stretch, it’s most likely catcher Francisco Álvarez, although that’s also far from certain.
Unlike division rivals Braves, who have received all-around contributions from recently drafted Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom, the Mets see Baty and Vientos as bat prospects at this point in their careers. Their offensive profiles are legit: Baty started Monday at .364/.462/.364 in six games since being promoted to Syracuse midseason after hitting 19 homers in 89 games at Double-A Binghamton, while Viento’s .274/. 354/.517 in Syracuse. They are former first-round and second-round draft picks, respectively.
But none of the players make their mark as elite defenders at third base. The Mets have tried at both first base and outfield in hopes of defending them consistently.
Until that process develops further, team officials will sacrifice the offensive advantages of Baty or Vientos in favor of Marrero, a glove-first shortstop who started the season with the independent league Long Island Ducks. Marrero signed with the Mets in late June and went on to shorten .236/.325/.358 at Syracuse, playing three different infield positions. He has appeared in the majors for the Red Sox, D-Backs and Marlins.
Mets officials believe it’s important to have solid defensive coverage, especially at the shortstop, where Guillorme served as Francisco Lindor’s primary backup. With the Mets devoting so much of their 26-man roster to defensively limited hitters like Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf, team officials fear being caught flat-footed in the event of a Lindor illness or injury. While Eduardo Escobar can play shortstop in an emergency, he has been struggling with an injury on his left side in recent days.
“We considered everything,” said manager Buck Showalter, which effectively amounted to a no-comment.
Regardless of the Mets’ roster decisions, the team will miss Guillorme, a standout three-position defenseman who also slashed .283/.355/.357 in 86 games. Guillorme, who recently went into a platoon situation with Escobar in third, strained his groin as he ran the bases in Sunday’s win against the Phillies. He won’t return until early to mid-September at the earliest, although the Mets remain hopeful that Guillorme can help them down the line.