Why The Mets Need to Consider Moving on From Mark Vientos

The Mets are in a deep hole in the standings and need all hands on deck to climb back into a postseason race. The margin for error is considerably slimmer than it was in March, meaning players who aren't living up to expectations, like Mark Vientos, may start to see their playing time diminish.

Expectations weren't high for Vientos on Opening Day, but a rash of injuries has led to increased playing time for him. The loss of Jorge Polanco gave Vientos a lane to be the regular first baseman, but the results he has delivered both offensively and defensively leave plenty to be desired.

A pair of key defensive mistakes last night cost the Mets dearly, as Vientos let a line drive go through his glove to lead to an unearned run in the third. The other came in the fifth, when Vientos failed to field a ball that led to a single to right, extending the inning for a back-breaking three-run homer that helped send Jonah Tong back to the minors today.

The defensive lapses would be manageable if Vientos was producing at the plate, but a .219 batting average with seven home runs, 26 RBIs and a .633 OPS doesn't cover it. Vientos has been worth minus-0.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) so far this season, which rates among the worst figures for qualified hitters in the entire league.

Another key mistake from Vientos came in the fifth, when the Mets knocked Logan Gilbert out of the game after Jared Young worked a walk with a tremendous at-bat. Vientos was the next man up and swung at the first pitch he saw, a sinker in on his hands that turned into an inning-ending double play.

Why the Mets need to move on from Mark Vientos

Vientos played a big role in the Mets' loss last night, but was quite confident in his abilities afterward. When speaking to reporters about his defensive lapses, Vientos said that he felt he was playing pretty well in the field.

"Pretty good. Feel like I've done a pretty good job out over there," Vientos said, via SNY TV. "Been working. Feel like I've been doing pretty good."

Mark Vientos was asked to evaluate how he's done defensively so far this season:

"Pretty good. Feel like I've done a pretty good job over there. Been working. Feel like I've been doing pretty good" pic.twitter.com/brXxsfRgbc
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 3, 2026

The stats disagree with Vientos' self-assessment: Baseball Savant's profile for him ranks him as four outs below average in the field and having very limited range. The offensive profile doesn't look much better for Vientos, but he also feels quite confident in his abilities at the plate.

I've got to give myself a little bit of props because last month just a lot of bad luck. The inconsistency is not something that I want. Trying my best to be the best version of myself right now. It's not happening, but I'm working for it for sure.
Mark Vientos

While it is great that Vientos is confident in his ability, the results haven't matched his bravado. His comments provided an eerie parallel to his commentary on his decision to run through a stop sign in April during the Mets' 12-game losing streak, with Vientos saying he felt his "baseball instincts" made it a good call.

Mark Vientos said running through Tim Leiper's stop sign had nothing to do with the losing streak

"I was just following my instincts. Once I saw the ball was hit off the wall, I was like I'm going to go score on that" pic.twitter.com/XL10GgLbai
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 23, 2026

Mets' manager Carlos Mendoza wasn't happy with those comments in April, saying they had to discuss it in-house, but he didn't either pull Vientos from the game or sit him the next day to show that those actions have consequences. Injuries and a lack of better options certainly played a role, but that excuse should disappear with Young back and Polanco close to joining him.

It feels like the Mets are hoping to recapture the form that Vientos displayed at the end of 2024, when he went on a massive heater in the second half to carry their offense. Vientos was also the club's most productive hitter in the postseason, setting a franchise record with 14 RBIs in a single playoff run, but that form appears to be an outlier rather than a sign of things to come.

The Mets can easily construct lineups with Young as the primary first baseman and Polanco as the designated hitter upon his return, which would significantly cut into Vientos' playing time. If Francisco Alvarez comes back, it would also give the Mets another option to cut further into Vientos' at-bats, especially if the Mets try to utilize Polanco at first base against left-handed pitching.

Vientos is out of minor league options, so the Mets need to either bench him or move on. It is fair to believe that keeping Eric Wagaman and MJ Melendez, both of whom figure to be on the roster bubble when Polanco returns, offer more value as bench pieces than Vientos does at this juncture.

It may be a bitter pill for the Mets to admit defeat with Vientos, but it has become abundantly clear that he is what he is at this point: a player without a defensive position whose value relies entirely on his ability to slug the occasional home run. Those bombs aren't coming frequently enough to justify Vientos' shortcomings, so his days in Queens should be numbered.

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