Eduardo Escobar is happy with how things panned out between him and the Mets - "I trust the decision-making from the front office"

Eduardo Escobar has had a wild ride with the New York Mets' administration over the past few months. He was touted to be the prime choice at third base before the Correa signing, which all changed once Correa was on board.

Eduardo was discussing with the Mets administration about leaving the ball club when the White Sox showed interest in the slugger. After Correa's deal fell through, the Mets yet again announced Escobar would be their third baseman in the 2023 season.

"Eduardo Escobar can still be a productive player, but is it in the Mets’ best interest to give the bulk of the third base at-bats to Brett Baty from the jump this season" - Danny Abriano

In less than three weeks, the New York Mets will play their first game in Port St. Lucie with Escobar at third base. They believe the 34-year-old Venezuelan infielder is an improvement over the previous year's patchy campaign.

Escobar is anticipated to marginally decrease production, according to game forecasts. His 2022 wRC+ of 106 is expected to fall to 100 this year. In the upcoming season, his 2.3 fWAR is predicted to fall to 1.4.

"Eduardo Escobar hits a go-ahead homer and Citi Field is ROCKING!" - TalkinBaseball_

Many on the team are fully aware that Escobar has improved since the beginning of 2022 when he was going through a divorce and under a lot of stress. Due to a September in which he occasionally carried the team, he ended the season with a 106 OPS+, his career average even after that rocky start.

He finished the season with 20 home runs and an above-average .726 OPS after hitting eight home runs and compiling a 1.046 OPS in the final month.

Eduardo Escobar will be the designated third baseman for the New York Mets in 2023

The New York Mets had cause to be hopeful about Escobar's future with the team based on how he finished the previous campaign. Eduardo Escobar won the first Player of the Month title of his professional career for his outstanding September performance, which included eight home runs, 25 RBIs, 12 walks, four doubles, and a triple in his final 30 games. This offered a glimpse of the kind of talented athlete he can still be after putting problems off the field and healing from injuries.

"Eduardo Escobar drives in all of the Mets runs tonight and hits the walk-off winner!!!" - MLBONFOX