Mets' Carlos Mendoza reveals 1-word expectation of Brett Baty

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza got honest about what he wants to see from Brett Baty.

Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) watches batting practice during Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The New York Mets' spring training is now well underway, with the team securing a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros in their first outing on February 22.

It's a quick turnaround for New York, as they're set to play two (split-squad) games against the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

Brett Baty is hitting in the three-hole and playing DH against Miami. He had two at-bats on Saturday, one of which resulted in a hit.

Clover Park hosts its second Mets game of the spring this afternoon 🌴

⏰: 1 p.m.
📺: SNY
📱: SNY on the MLB App pic.twitter.com/WbrrqXNNPK

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 23, 2025

Baty's spring training is one of the more intriguing storylines for the Mets right now. His name has been included in trade rumors throughout the offseason as some believe he's best-suited for a change of scenery, now that Mark Vientos has asserted himself as New York's everyday third baseman.

Read more: Could Yankees be a potential trade candidate for Mets' Brett Baty?

Of course, that has nothing to do with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who is more focused on what Baty is doing on the field. And when speaking with the media on February 23, Mendoza explained what he's looking to see from Baty's spring training at-bats.

"Conviction," Mendoza said, per an X post from SNY. "Dictating at-bats, putting his A-swing on pitches. He controls the strike zone, but just the conviction on it, you know?

"Making hard contact. Yeah, it's more like him driving the baseball, making some solid contact, just having conviction behind his swing," he added.

When asked whether Baty still needs to work on getting the ball in the air more, Mendoza said, "We know that the ground balls have been an issue for him, but we want him to be a hitter. Not so much concentrate on hitting fly balls, hit line drives. Because with his power, if he's concentrating on hitting line drives... [those] are gonna turn into homers or doubles.

"So I just think it's more being of a line drive hitter... be athletic, have some conviction when you're making your decisions, and just try to hit hard line drives," Mendoza continued.

Carlos Mendoza says he is looking for "conviction" from Brett Baty in his spring training at-bats pic.twitter.com/CJSfRX7Xwe

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 23, 2025

Baty's success this spring training will likely be a deciding factor on what the Mets plan to do with him during the regular season.