Mets' Mark Vientos is ready to mash after early arrival to spring training
Mets infielder Mark Vientos during a spring training workout, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Between rounds of batting practice Tuesday, more than a week after he arrived at Mets spring training and the better part of a week before he needs to be here, Mark Vientos made sure to chat with Carlos Mendoza — the first conversation of any real substance between the new manager and one of the young players the Mets hope becomes a fixture.
Mendoza’s message was a common but helpful one: Don’t forget what helped you reach the big leagues and, further, “maximize it,” Vientos relayed.
And what got him to the big leagues, exactly?
“Well, I'm a power hitter. I can hit the ball good,” Vientos said. “That's what was going through my head: 'OK, let me just keep hitting home runs.’”
Hitting the ball good, slugging, mashing, raking, ranking among the elite in exit velocity — call it whatever you want. Vientos’ bat has been his top tool since the Mets drafted him as a 17-year-old from South Florida seven years ago.
The key to hitting home runs, though, is playing regularly. The Mets appear ready to allow Vientos to do so. Through two partial major-league seasons, under previous organizational leadership, Vientos’ chances were inconsistent — and, in turn, so was his performance.
But with no major offseason additions to the lineup, Vientos and Brett Baty enter spring training as the primary options at DH and third base, respectively. Vientos will also see time during exhibition games at third base and first base, Mendoza said. Since he isn’t at the top of the depth chart at either position, the hitting-only role looks most likely.
Vientos is open to that. That is what got him to the majors, after all.
“I for sure like playing a position, but wherever the team has me, I’m here for it,” he said.
Mendoza said: “At the end of the day, if he's in the lineup, that means he's playing well, whether it's at third, first base, DH. It'll play itself out.”
Part of Vientos’ excitement, which manifested itself in the way-early arrival to camp, stems from this year representing “a fresh start,” he said. With the manager and head of baseball operations spots turning over again, now filled by Mendoza and David Stearns, he will get a new chance to prove himself.
“It feels like the first day of school. I'm a senior now instead of a junior, I'm meeting my new teachers,” Vientos said. “It's not different, it's the same. It's baseball. We've got a great group of guys, great teammates, great group of baseball players and coaches. I'm excited.”
The Mets also are excited — and curious. Vientos is exactly the type of player Stearns described as deserving and needing a legitimate chance, for the sake of the Mets’ overall knowledge about their own players: someone who has excelled at Triple-A but hasn’t had a real chance to stick in the majors.
Through mid-August last season, Vientos struggled in a part-time role, hitting .190 with a .231 OBP and .281 slugging percentage.
Playing regularly over the final month or so, he boosted those numbers to .230/.280/.460 — still not great, but at least much better.
His average exit velocity in 2023 was 92.5 mph, the best on the Mets (Pete Alonso, for reference, was at 89.5). Vientos was just above Mookie Betts and Kyle Schwarber and just below Juan Soto and Julio Rodriguez.
He hits the ball plenty hard. He’ll need to prove he can hit it more often. Last season Vientos struck out in 30% of his plate appearances.
“I’m used to playing every single day, so that’s the type of player I know I am,” Vientos said. “Playing every single day gives the opportunity to showcase myself at its best. So if I get the opportunity to do that, I’m not going to look back.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
