Brett Baty’s first second base start in Triple-A could be his only one

Brett Baty, once the Mets’ third baseman of the future, started the first game of his career at second base Thursday at Triple-A Syracuse.

It happened as the Mets are looking to see how they can use Baty on their roster, but Mark Vientos has hit well since winning the everyday job at third over Baty.

Still, Carlos Mendoza said prior to the Mets’ 3-2 comeback win over the Marlins at Citi Field that Baty remains a third baseman in the organization’s eyes, and the manager indicated Baty would only play one or two games at second base before a potential return to Queens.

“This is just one of one or two you’ll see before he comes back,’’ Mendoza said. “He’s a third baseman. We wanted to make sure we checked that box of him playing his first professional innings on the right side of the infield in the minor leagues as opposed to the big leagues.”

But it’s unclear how Baty can coexist with Vientos on the roster and the team’s desire to get both of them consistent playing time.

Baty played 29 games in the minors in left field in 2021 and ’22, but that’s not an option at this point.

Asked what path might get Baty back to the majors, Mendoza said, “Those are some conversations we’ll continue to have.”

Mendoza was confident it would happen at some point.

“I told him, ‘You’ll be back here,’ and that’s the plan,’’ Mendoza said. “When is that gonna be? It’s hard to tell. Just continue to work. It’s good to see him down there and getting results. We’ll see what happens here. Injuries happen, matchups, days off. … I’ll continue to say he’ll be back.”

Baty entered Thursday with three straight multi-hit games at Syracuse — mixed in with the one game he played for the Mets against the Phillies in London, when Baty was the 27th man.

He made strides defensively at third this season, but his lefty bat couldn’t keep him in the majors.

Now, he’ll be adding a new position.

Mendoza noted Baty would have to adjust to different angles and turning double plays, among other aspects.

“A lot of those things are new for him, so for him to play a game there is gonna benefit him,’’ Mendoza said. “He’ll have more time [on defense] now. And he’ll have a lot more places he needs to go compared to third base. It just comes down to angles. The biggest thing is he’ll be more involved with where to go. There are a lot of different places.”

Vientos has hit well since being recalled from Triple-A on May 15.

He entered Thursday with a .932 OPS during the 21-game stretch.

And though Vientos has been better against left-handed pitchers than righties, he’s hit well against both, with a .766 OPS versus righties and a 1.142 OPS against lefties.

Since the Mets currently have two second basemen on the roster in the struggling Jeff McNeil and the veteran Jose Iglesias, it’s hard to see Baty getting much time at that spot.

It has been a rough major league start for the 24-year-old, who the Mets took out of high school with the 12th-overall pick in the 2019.