First-round pick Brett Baty will visit Mets to take physical and sign deal
Brett Baty, a third baseman from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, adjusts his jersey after being selected No. 12 overall by the Mets in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft on June 3 in Secaucus, N.J. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Brett Baty, the Mets’ first-round draft pick last week, is ready to go pro.
Baty is planning to travel to New York this weekend to take his physical and sign with the Mets, his father, Clint Baty, told Newsday on Tuesday night.
The Mets picked Baty, a third baseman from Lake Travis High in Austin, with the No. 12 overall pick. He had been committed to the University of Texas.
The signing bonus slot value for Baty’s pick is $4.37 million. Baty’s actual signing bonus is not known, but a source said it will be below slot.
Baty is one of the trio of players on which the Mets’ 2019 draft success hinges. The others are second-round pitcher Josh Wolf and third-round pitcher Matthew Allan, who was considered a first-round talent and will command an above-slot bonus to lure away from his University of Florida commitment. Wolf and Allan have not signed yet.
The Mets have announced the signings of 18 of their 40 draft picks so far, none earlier than the fifth round.
Syndergaard goes home sick
The Mets sent Noah Syndergaard home Tuesday morning because of strep throat. Manager Mickey Callaway said it shouldn’t affect his scheduled start Saturday against the Cardinals, though it’s not clear if Syndergaard — with antibiotics and at least a couple of days of feeling unwell — will be able to stick to his normal between-starts routine this week.
“He’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Callaway said.
Gimenez OK
X-Rays were negative on shortstop Andres Gimenez’s right hand/wrist Monday.
Gimenez, 20, the Mets’ top prospect, has been on the injured list with Double-A Binghamton since last week after getting hit by a pitch. The Mets had him visit the Hospital of Special Surgery in Manhattan for tests, which confirmed the injury is just a bruise.
Gimenez is slashing .232/.305/.333 this season.
Extra bases
No Mets lead their positions in All-Star voting, as of Major League Baseball’s Tuesday afternoon update. Closest is Pete Alonso, who is fifth among National League first basemen. Robinson Cano is seventh at second, Wilson Ramos ninth at catcher and Jeff McNeil 18th at outfield. First-round voting ends June 21 . . . Veteran outfielder Matt Kemp, playing with Triple-A Syracuse, is sidelined with “lingering effects” of a broken rib, the Mets said. Kemp initially suffered the injury in April with the Reds, who released him . . . Infielder Luis Guillorme was the Mets’ 26th man for the second game of their doubleheader.
