After three seasons, this former clubhouse favourite of the New York Mets will be playing for his third team. According to MLB source Robert Murray of FanSided, the Toronto Blue Jays have inked former Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar to a major league contract. After being the team’s starting third baseman for all of 2022, Escobar played one and a half seasons with the Mets before being dealt to the Los Angeles Angels in June 2023, when top prospect Brett Baty replaced him at the hot corner.
Under former general manager Billy Eppler, the Angels traded Landon Marceaux and Coleman Crow to the Mets. Following his appointment as president of baseball operations in the offseason, David Stearns traded Crow to his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in exchange for outfielder Tyrone Taylor and right-handed pitcher Adrian Houser. Going back to Escobar, he was a valued member of his teammates’ team and a seasoned leader in the Mets’ clubhouse. But over his time with the Mets, he had trouble staying consistent. Nevertheless, Escobar had a fantastic second half of 2022, posting a.273 average,.825 OPS, nine home runs, and a huge September–October stretch.8 home runs, 25 RBIs, and a 982 OPS. There was some hope for that in terms of his status going into 2023.
However, things didn’t go as expected because after another poor start, Baty had a strong start at Triple-A, which prompted the Mets to take a chance on their young player. After that, Escobar knew his time in Queens was limited, and two months later, Eppler gave him a nasty blow.
It was obvious that Escobar was going to be the seasoned stopgap option until Baty was ready for the big leagues when he inked a two-year, $20 million contract with the Mets before the 2022 season. Despite having a difficult year last year, Baty now faces virtually no opposition for the job. We’ll have to wait and see if he becomes the superstar everyone anticipated.
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