Mets Notebook: Buck Showalter dealing with ‘challenge’ of providing playtime at crowded third base

Third base is getting a little crowded.

The Mets are currently carrying three third basemen, and while two of the three have roles that don’t always require them to man the hot corner, it’s still a curious predicament that begs some questions about playing time.

Brett Bay, Mark Vientos and Eduardo Escobar are all sharing some time at third base. Baty handles the position on most days because the Mets see him as their third baseman of the future. Vientos doesn’t really have a position right now other than a part-time designated hitter, but he did play one game at third over the weekend in Denver against the Colorado Rockies.

It was Escobar who was at third base and batting ninth Tuesday when the Mets opened a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. The Mets have been using Baty, one of the club’s top prospects, against left-handers more often, but with Ranger Suarez on the mound, the Mets turned to Escobar, who is 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and four RBI against the Phillies’ lefty.

“He’s been very quietly swinging the bat,” manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday. “Similar to what he did last August and some of September. Escobar was Player of the Month in the National League [last September], people seem to forget that there wasn’t a better player in our league than him for a month.”

Escobar has been playing a reserve role for the last five weeks with the emergence of Baty. The Mets had hoped that Escobar’s bat would emerge during the early weeks of the season but between Baty’s outstanding performance in Triple-A and Escobar’s own offensive struggles (.158 with a .530 OPS in March and April), the club had no choice but to call up Baty.

But the team’s relative lack of offense forced them to make a move for Vientos as well. The Mets needed some pop and he had plenty of that at Triple-A.

The challenge now is finding at-bats for all of them.

“We’ve got good players and we’re trying to make use of all their skills,” Showalter said. “So I think the challenge is separating where the matchups might fall. Sometimes you have to think about how you’re going to approach their bullpen after the sixth inning. Sometimes you’re facing a pitcher that until you get him out of there, doesn’t matter about the bullpen because he’s that good.”

The Mets were hesitant to bring up Vientos, another highly-ranked prospect, given his reputation as being a poor defender at third base. The team is now trying to develop him at the Major League level instead of getting a player who is fully developed on both sides of the ball, but they feel that he deserves a chance to see if he can contribute offensively by consistently hitting big-league pitching.

Using Vientos as a DH makes the most sense right now since Pete Alonso is at first base and he isn’t nearly as experienced in left field. But the club continues to work with him on his defensive fundamentals.

“He knows that for him to be able to stay in the big leagues, he’s going to have to play defense,” said infield coach Joey Cora. “He knows it. We told him last year after the year was over. You can hit all the homers you want, but if you can’t play defense then he won’t be able to stick here.”

Escobar has played some second base and been in the lineup against left-handed pitching. The Mets are going to continue using him in a part-time role and they believe he will produce at the plate once again.

“He’s capable,” Showalter said. “I know he’s approached every bat trying to prove a little, just to remind some people that he he’s been a good player in the big leagues for a long time.”

WELCOME BACK, NOW GET OUT

The Mets reinstated right-handed reliever Jimmy Yacabonis from the injured list and designated him for assignment. Yacabonis was used as the long man out of the bullpen when Stephen Nogosek was injured in April. He went 2-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 4.62 FIP.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Catcher Omar Narvaez (strained left calf) is eligible to be reinstated June 6 and the Mets think he’s on track to reach that mark, barring any setbacks. He continued his rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. The Mets may have to carry three catchers for a time unless they want to risk losing either Narvaez or Tomas Nido.