Mets call up slugging prospect Mark Vientos after torrid start at Triple-A: source
Mark Vientos is headed back to the Major Leagues, but how the Mets are going to use him is another question. A source confirmed to the Daily News that the Mets are calling up Mark Vientos, who has provided plenty of power for Triple-A Syracuse this season. Brett Baty is at third base and Pete Alonso is at first.
Mark Vientos is headed back to the Major Leagues, but how the Mets are going to use him is another question.
The Mets badly need more firepower in an offense that ranks toward the bottom half of the league in runs, home runs and average with runners in scoring position. A source confirmed to the Daily News that the Mets are calling up Mark Vientos, who has provided plenty of power for Triple-A Syracuse this season.
But where he’ll play isn’t quite clear. Brett Baty is at third base and Pete Alonso is at first. The Mets could DH him in place of Daniel Vogelbach or Tommy Pham, but the team decision-makers have been hesitant to use their rookies in the DH spot because of their developing defense. The Mets didn’t want to do that with catcher Francisco Alvarez this year and they didn’t call up Baty until they were forced to, saying they wanted him to master defense at Triple-A.
The best place to play him might be in left field in place of the struggling Mark Canha, but Vientos hasn’t played any outfield so far this season, though he has in the past. However, last season the Mets used Vientos as a platoon DH and that may be the best path forward for all involved. The 23-year-old has crushed righties and lefties in Triple-A this season, posting a 1.104 OPS with 13 home runs in 38 games.
Pete Alonso has 14 home runs for the Mets, but no one else has more than six.
Pham, a right-handed hitter the Mets use against left-handed pitching, is hitting just .188 with three home runs. Vogelbach, a left-handed hitter used against righties, has a .376 on-base percentage but only two home runs. Eduardo Escobar has occasionally been used against lefties as well and he did hit a home run Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, but his struggles this season have been well-documented. The Mets have not received nearly enough production at the DH spot.
The Mets started Vientos in Triple-A this season to have him continue working on defense, baserunning and having a more discerning eye at the plate. Vientos had been playing third base in place of Baty with Syracuse.
General manager Billy Eppler tends to favor players with low strikeout numbers, and the Mets do have one of the lowest strikeout rates in the Major Leagues at just 19.8%. But it’s become clear that the club needs someone to drive in those baserunners. That often comes at the cost of more strikeouts, but it might be necessary to bite the bullet and add more strikeouts just to be able to add more home runs.
The Mets’ second-round draft pick in 2017, Vientos was selected to become the successor to David Wright at third base. Vientos’ father was born in the Dominican Republic but grew up in New York as a Mets fan and passed that fandom down to Mark, who idolized Wright while growing up in Florida.
The Mets have not announced a corresponding roster move and they’ll need to make room for Carlos Carrasco, who will come off the injured list to start Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Playing with three rookies in the lineup isn’t exactly ideal, since rookies are unproven and can be streaky until they’re used to Major League pitching. However, Vientos earned the call-up and a team that has continually failed to produce at the plate had little choice but to explore their internal options as the Mets, who are currently three games under .500, try to climb the NL East standings before it’s too late.
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