Mets send Baty and Scott to the minors and cut backup catcher Narváez

Updated Jun. 1, 2024 1:17 a.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The disappointing New York Mets shook up their roster a bit Friday, sending third baseman Brett Baty and rookie pitcher Christian Scott to the minors in a series of moves that also included backup catcher Omar Narváez being designated for assignment.

The team acquired catcher Luis Torrens from the crosstown New York Yankees for cash and called him up to the majors. Torrens had been playing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees' farm system.

The Mets also selected veteran José Iglesias from Triple-A Syracuse, adding the backup middle infielder they'd gone without on the bench since cutting Joey Wendle on May 15.

Right-hander Dedniel Núñez was recalled from Syracuse to provide needed depth in a tattered bullpen.

The 34-year-old Iglesias immediately received a start Friday night, giving second baseman Jeff McNeil a rest against Arizona left-hander Jordan Montgomery. It was the first big league game for Iglesias since 2022 with Colorado. He was an All-Star in 2015 with Detroit.

Iglesias committed a throwing error while trying to turn a double play but also singled in the fifth inning and called for the baseball to keep as a souvenir.

Baty's demotion to Syracuse means fellow youngster Mark Vientos will get an everyday opportunity at third base. Baty made dramatic improvements into a quality defender this season but has slumped at the plate since a strong start.

“Not an easy decision,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But it's time for him to go down there and continue to get some playing time, continue to get reps, continue to develop, and then he'll be back here. We told him that.”

Vientos is batting .327 with three homers and eight RBIs in 15 major league games this season. He has a .377 on-base percentage and .592 slugging percentage after going 3 for 5 with two RBI singles in Friday night's 10-9 victory over the defending NL champion Diamondbacks.

“It feels amazing that they're giving me the opportunity. Nothing but thankful for it," Vientos said. "But with Brett, I know he's going to go down there, he's going to work hard and he's going to be back here as soon as possible. He has a good head on his shoulders and I'm confident that he'll be back soon.”

Scott's demotion is hardly related to performance. The club's top pitching prospect has thrown well in five starts since making his major league debut in early May, but the Mets have five other healthy starters now and three off days coming up around a June 8-9 series against the Philadelphia Phillies in London.

By optioning Scott (0-2, 3.90 ERA) to Syracuse, the Mets can easily limit his workload for a while, and he is expected to return before too long. The right-hander tossed five solid innings Thursday night in a no-decision against Arizona.

“He's a big league pitcher,” Mendoza said. “The way he's handled himself here, the performance and things like that. It's just nothing more than where we are in the schedule. Off days coming up here, we don't need a six-man rotation, we needed a bullpen arm. He'll be back up, and he understood that.”

Despite baseball's biggest opening-day payroll at $306 million, the fourth-place Mets (24-33) won for only the sixth time in 21 games Friday night. New York has won back-to-back games for the first time since May 6-7 in St. Louis.

The team has seven days to trade or release Narváez, or assign him outright to the minors if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

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