Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal's roster spot

The New York Mets made the unpopular decision to replace Jose Iglesias on their active roster over the offseason, citing the desire to have their final bench spot be more flexible. Instead of rostering Iglesias, who cannot be optioned down to the Minor Leagues without being DFA'd, the Mets would prefer to roll with an infielder who can be optioned down with no consequences, even if that means rostering a less talented player.

Among those viewed to be in the running were veteran infielder Nick Madrigal and two younger infielders, Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña — each of whom came to the Mets organization with significant prospect pedigree but have slipped in the pecking order a bit recently. Madrigal seemingly had the upper hand over the youngsters, given he's far more experienced at the MLB level, but his shoulder injury marked an end to his candidacy for that last position player spot on the roster.

Barring a surprising addition, the last bench spot is presumably a two-horse race between Baty and Acuña now. It's safe to say that, based on how they're playing, both of them want that spot desperately.

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Luisangel Acuña and Brett Baty are doing whatever they can to win final Mets Opening Day roster spot

Acuña led off Tuesday's game for the Mets against the Houston Astros with a bang, singling to left field, stealing second, and advancing to third base thanks to a throwing error from Houston's catcher. This set the stage for him to score on Jesse Winker's single, giving New York an early lead.

Acuña isn't a major power threat like his brother, but he proved in record time the kind of menace he can be on the base paths. He practically manufactured this run all by himself, which is impressive.

As if that wasn't eye-opening enough, Baty, a player often criticized for his inability to pull the ball in the air at the Major League level, yanked a home run to right field off of Hayden Wesneski — a legitimate MLB pitcher who might win a rotation spot for Houston — to give the Mets a two-run cushion. He'd single later in the contest as well, recording his second straight multi-hit game.

It's important not to overreact to spring training performances, but both Acuña and Baty showed why they should be considered for that last roster spot on Tuesday. Acuña might not offer as much upside with the bat as Baty, but he's a solid defender at multiple positions and offers a speed element that Baty doesn't. On the flip side, while Baty is really only a third baseman and doesn't offer much speed, he has far more upside offensively than Acuña, especially when he is able to lift the ball to his pull side and access his significant physical tools.

At the end of the day, the best-case scenario for the Mets is that Baty and Acuña make this final roster spot as difficult as possible for Carlos Mendoza. Both of them playing well accomplishes exactly that.