NEW YORK \u2014 Mark Vientos started his home run trot a split second after making contact. It was that kind of blast: a second-decker that traveled an estimated 445 feet.<\/p>\n
Vientos\u2019 power is undeniable. Consistency is an issue.<\/p>\n
Vientos\u2019 home run during the third inning of the Mets\u2019 9-7 win over the Miami Marlins in 10 innings Friday night was his first in two weeks. Over that stretch, he went 9-for-50 (.180 batting average) with three doubles, 11 strikeouts and no walks. For the season, Vientos has seven home runs with a .224 batting average and .652 OPS.<\/p>\n
The Mets (24-33) need Vientos and Brett Baty, their two underachieving 26-year-olds, to help make this a manageable deficit before help arrives. If that doesn\u2019t happen, the front office should seriously consider trading at least one of them before the Aug. 3 deadline.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not June yet. The Mets, however, are seven games behind the third and final wild-card spot. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday that it remains early for \u201crobust trade discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked at what point he needs to look at his roster and assess trade candidates, Stearns said: \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet. We\u2019ve got time, so we\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the obvious names of Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and David Peterson \u2014 all set for free agency after the season \u2014 there are other players rival scouts and executives suggested the Mets may benefit from by shopping. They include Vientos and Baty.<\/p>\n
Vientos and Baty are three years away from free agency. Both have performed inconsistently at the plate over the last few years. Baty likely holds more value in the trade market because of his defense and versatility. Vientos made an error at first base Friday that led to two runs.<\/p>\n
As multiple scouts pointed out, however, a team with a need at first base or DH might look at Vientos\u2019 power and think \u2014 hope, perhaps \u2014 it can be the club that unlocks more consistency from him.<\/p>\n
Vientos batted sixth in the Mets\u2019 batting order Friday. It was the first time he didn\u2019t occupy the third, fourth or fifth spot in a start since May 3. Against right-hander Max Meyer, who entered with a 2.52 ERA, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stacked a few of his top left-handed options in the middle of the order ahead of Vientos, who bats from the right side.<\/p>\n
Baty was not one of those three left-handed batters (star Juan Soto, journeyman Jared Young and rookie A.J. Ewing were). Baty batted behind Vientos. Like Vientos, Baty was in the middle of the Mets\u2019 win, contributing a two-run single in the first inning. For the season, Baty is slashing just .231\/.305\/.343.<\/p>\n
Injuries created larger roles for Baty and Vientos. The Mets always envisioned Baty seeing steady playing time as a utility player, but Francisco Lindor\u2019s calf injury moved Bo Bichette to shortstop and made Baty the everyday third baseman. Instead of working as a bench bat to mostly hit against left-handed pitchers, Vientos typically occupies an everyday spot at first base, with Jorge Polanco (Achilles) out since April 14.<\/p>\n
After starting for Double-A Binghamton on Friday, Polanco will play in another rehab game Saturday, with the possibility of rejoining the Mets on their trip next week. Lindor is making progress, Mets officials say, but there is no exact timeline for his return.<\/p>\n
The potential returns of Polanco and Lindor, plus Francisco Alvarez, who might begin a rehab assignment next week (injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr.\u2019s situation remains as murky as it gets), might not matter much. The Mets\u2019 hole could end up being too large to climb out of.<\/p>\n
New York wasn\u2019t playing well before a rash of injuries hit. Now, its pitching is getting pieced together by the day and its lineup resides toward the bottom in just about every important statistic.<\/p>\n
The Mets don\u2019t win much. And when they do win, it rarely comes easy.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem, aside from the injuries, is that the roster features a handful of players who have failed to sustain success from previous parts of their careers. Baty and Vientos are two examples. Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga and Peterson are among the others. Baty hasn\u2019t yet looked like the offensive player he was in the second half of last year. Vientos hasn\u2019t looked the same at the plate since his breakout 2024 season.<\/p>\n
Stearns said it\u2019s hard to lump all of those players into one bucket; individual cases vary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn certain situations we\u2019ve encountered, we think we know the reasons and are working, and in certain cases we don\u2019t,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the reality of baseball, the reality of player evaluation, the reality of trying to help players get the most out of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clubs hate to move on from young players under club control. It stings seeing them succeed elsewhere. Baty and Vientos made their respective debuts four years ago, however, and the Mets are still trying to figure out exactly what they have in each player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 Mark Vientos started his home run trot a split second after making contact. It was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,1830,85],"class_list":["post-704711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}