Mark Vientos begins on-field work in recovery from hamstring injury

Mets' third baseman Mark Vientos took a positive step in his recovery from a hamstring injury by doing on-field defensive drills prior to Tuesday's game against Washington.

May 28, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) bats during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images | Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

The New York Mets could get a key piece of their lineup back from the injured list much sooner than initially anticipated.

Just over a week after he hurt his hamstring in Los Angeles, third baseman Mark Vientos has started to ramp up baseball activities. Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo reported that the 25-year-old is jogging and hitting; Vientos was also seen doing fielding drills prior to Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals.

Mark Vientos gets in some fielding work at Citi Field as he works his way back from a hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/KYfRNEksr8

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 10, 2025

Initial imaging showed that Vientos appeared to avoid the worst case scenario with his right hamstring, which he injured coming out of the batter's box in extra innings last Monday. After that relief, the third baseman is now trying to return to the field as soon as possible, especially after the hamstring inflammation dissipated.

Despite these efforts, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stated that Vientos "would likely" need a rehab assignment before returning to major league action.

Carlos Mendoza says the inflammation is gone from Mark Vientos' hamstring but will "most likely" need a rehab assignment pic.twitter.com/DnltoR5hBs

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 10, 2025

The timing of the injury was unfortunate for Vientos, who had been showing signs of busting out of a recent slump. After a tough first two weeks of the season, Vientos hit the injured list batting .230 with six home runs, 21 RBI, and a .678 OPS in 53 games.

Vientos had ceded time at third base to Brett Baty, getting more work at the DH slot, but he will now have to fend off a surging Ronny Mauricio for playing time as well. Mauricio, who got recalled from Triple-A Syracuse after Vientos got hurt, went 5-for-11 with a towering home run and four runs scored in Colorado over the weekend.

Read More: Mets' Ronny Mauricio making his case to stay in majors amid recent call-up

The fact that Vientos is already hitting and jogging is good, but the Mets won't have a good idea of a time table for his return until he is able to run without an issue. Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky and can easily be re-aggravated, so it makes sense for Vientos to begin a rehab assignment and make sure he can withstand playing full games without further injury to that hamstring.