With Pete Alonso Out, Mark Vientos Should Be In Mets' Lineup Daily
For the New York Mets, it’s next slugger up. Or, at least it should be.
With news coming out Friday that Pete Alonso will be sidelined for at least 3-4 weeks with a bone bruise and wrist sprain, now is the time for the team to see what they have in Mark Vientos.
Vientos, 23, has appeared in just 14 games for the Mets so far this year with Daniel Vogelbach taking a majority of reps at designated hitter.
Vogelbach has struggled to a .203/.343/.297 triple slash with just two home runs this season, and with Alonso also out, New York could use another power bat in their lineup.
Whether Vientos can be that remains to be seen. However, he clubbed 13 home runs and had a 1.104 OPS at Triple-A in 38 games prior to his promotion this year.
New York is coming off a dejecting series sweep at the hands of the rival Atlanta Braves and now sit at 30-34 and 9.5 games back of first place in the National League East.
The season is far from over, but with the trade deadline not until the end of July, the Mets should see what they have in-house for now. That starts with Vientos.
Vientos’s appearances have been few and far between to this point so it’s hard to pinpoint what they have in the rookie, but if they don’t intend to send him down and he’s with the big league squad, it makes sense to see what kind of player he is.
The Florida native hit ninth and played DH for Friday night’s series opener with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his second start in a row. So perhaps this is the start of regular reps to come for the youngster. Vientos went 1-for-3 with an RBI hit and a walk in his latest action.
