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Baty spent the offseason studying video and working to get his top hand stronger through his swing, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
"He's a typical right-hand thrower, left-hand bat where that top hand isn't your dominant hand," Mets assistant hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said. "That matters in keeping the barrel where you want to keep the barrel. It's just a matter of creating awareness around that, getting in a really good routine and then not trying to be perfect." A stronger top hand would create a more direct path to the ball and keep the 24-year-old's bat in the strike zone longer, hopefully improving his weak 69.1 percent contact rate from 2023. Baty is still the favorite to break camp as the Mets' starting third baseman, but if the club decides he needs more minor-league seasoning, veteran offseason addition Joey Wendle is available to platoon with Mark Vientos in Baty's place.
