Mets call up Mark Vientos to help struggling offense, source says
Mets third baseman Mark Vientos bats against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Monday, April 29, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The struggling Mets are calling up Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse to join them on Wednesday in Philadelphia, a source confirmed on Tuesday night.
Vientos, 24, was with the Mets briefly in late April when Starling Marte went on the bereavement list. Vientos went 3-for-7 with a walk-off, two-run home run against the Cardinals on April 28. But he was sent back to Syracuse two days later when Marte returned.
In 31 games at Syracuse, Vientos hit .284 with six home runs, 30 RBIs and an .876 OPS.
The Mets, who have dropped four of five after Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to Aaron Nola and the Phillies at Citi Field, are in desperate need of punch from their lineup.
Vientos has proved he can hit long home runs; he has 11 big-league homers. But he is a lifetime .211 hitter in 84 games with the Mets and is considered a defensive liability at third base, the position he is most likely to play with Brett Baty struggling.
Baty went 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Tuesday, is hitless in his last 14 at-bats, and is batting .236 with three home runs. Manager Carlos Mendoza has been pinch hitting for Baty against lefthanders of late, but the Mets didn’t have a righthanded hitter on the bench who can play third base.
Vientos was in contention for a third base / designated hitter job in spring training, but Baty won the third-base spot, and on March 24 the Mets signed J.D. Martinez to be the DH. Martinez debuted with the Mets on April 26.
Joey Wendle, who has been ineffective (.222 average) after signing as a free agent, is expected to be designated for assignment, a source said Tuesday night.
MLB.com reported that the Mets are not planning on sending down Baty.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
