Could Mark Vientos be New York Mets Righty Designated Hitter Solution?
When the Mets acquired Darin Ruf from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline in 2022, the intention was to have him be one half of a designated hitter platoon with Daniel Vogelbach.
Ruf, 36, struggled mightily with New York after the trade, with a dismal .152/.216/.197 triple slash and zero home runs in 28 games.
Under contract for 2023, Ruf was retained by the Mets, but has yet to make a Spring Training appearance after receiving a cortisone shot in his wrist at the end of February.
With Ruf on the shelf, a player to keep an eye on is prospect Mark Vientos, who is also a right-handed hitter with a ton of power.
Vientos, 23, debuted with the Mets last summer and appeared in 16 games, going 6-for-36 with one home run.
While he didn't set the world on fire in his limited time in Queens, Vientos put together a strong season in the minors at Triple-A Syracuse, where he launched 24 long balls and a .280/.358/.519 triple slash.
The Mets second round pick in 2017, Vientos showed off his power on Saturday, as he launched two home runs and went 3-for-4 at the plate with five RBI.
In the field, Vientos has primarily played the corner infield spots. In 2022, he spent 491 2/3 innings at third base and 231 at first, but the team is also now having him get his feet wet in the outfield as well.
The future for Vientos, however, might be as a designated hitter.
Flashing 60 power according to MLB Pipeline, who rank him as the Mets' No. 8 prospect, Vientos could give the Mets some additional pop in the lineup. This is something they lacked down the stretch last year.
Vientos breaking camp and heading north with the team depends on a couple things: how long Ruf is going to be sidelined, and how the team plans to utilize third basemen Brett Baty and Eduardo Escobar.
Ruf is only making in the $3 million range this season so if he struggles when he returns, it's not a big blow financially for the team to eat and would open the door for Vientos. However, one has to figure he will get a chance to show if he has anything left, especially with what the Mets gave up for him in the trade.
As for Baty, the Texas native is 8-for-17 at the dish to kick off the spring, and after a strong season in the minors last year, could very well be New York's third baseman to start the season if his hot preseason continues. This would also allow Escobar to act as a super utility type player who could spell Baty at third and occasionally DH.
This scenario could have Vientos starting the year at Triple-A, but there are still several weeks left for things to shake out.
Regardless, with both Vientos and Baty looking good to start Spring Training, along with Ronny Mauricio who has three dingers at the dish already, fans are getting a glimpse into what the near future could look like in Queens.
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