Looking past the recent more positive play in 2026 as this horrific season draws to a close there are a number of interesting decisions that the club must approach in order to put a more competitive team on the field in 2027. Some of the decisions seem straightforward but as you delve into them they are not quite as simple as the casual fan would conclude.
It seems no matter which way you turn you can’t help running into long diatribes about how Mark Vientos has tried and failed to become a major league hitter. With no options left and no position to play the overwhelming sentiment is to write him off as a failure and cut him loose, closing the chapter on yet another failed Mets prospect.
While it’s only been a week since his return from the IL, Vientos has looked downright acceptable and productive as a hitter. So what changed?
First of all, playing exclusively against left handed starting pitching has made him from a washout into an actual formidable batter. Right now the man everyone loves to hate has a .287 batting average against lefties. Is anyone else on the roster being that productive?
Then there is the question of home run power. In 247 ABs he has 13 HRs and has driven in 39. Round up for a full season’s worth of productivity and guess what? There’s that 27 HR hitter everyone adored when he was given the opportunity.
By contrast, his fellow Baby Met Brett Baty is hitting roughly the same (not at all enviable) overall, but has had 130 additional at bats to deliver 5 fewer home runs and a scant 4 more RBIs. The other difference is positional versatility and that Baty still has a minor league option. The Baty believers feel he should come back as a bench player but Vientos should be DFA’d.
Am I not seeing the same numbers? Granted, as a platoon DH you could do a lot worse than Vientos whereas offensively Baty has not shown the same potential.
Mets Relatively Thrive Under Andy Green
Not a single Mets fan nor media type can minimize the difference in the club since Green took over as interim manager for fired Carlos Mendoza. He’s got the players executing more effectively and as benefited greatly from the productive return of Juan Soto along with Francisco Lindor. Throw in the greatly improved play of Carson Benge, Bo Bichette and the steady if unspectacular presences of other offensive contributors and all of the sudden you begin to think that maybe the original plan wasn’t so bad after all under the right leadership.
Then you see the great many stories that Andy Green prefers to return to the front office which opens up once again the great debate over who will manage the 2027 team if not rookie skipper Carlos Beltran. Given the major step forward shown with an experienced hand it becomes somewhat less an automatic yes for the Hall of Famer to don his rookie managerial uniform.
Could it be that given his understanding and appreciation of how to use players that the team decides instead of overseeing the farm once again that Green be elevated into the non-existent GM role to complement the less than spectacular effort put forth by David Stearns?
4 comments:
I don't consider Vientos a failure. Do you know the percentage of boys that pick up a baseball bat and eventually play in the majors?
I don't either but it's far less than 1%.
Celebrate Vientos
Then kick him to the curb.
Green is not up for debate. He will return to the front office next year.
I have a funny feeling that the wife of next year's manager is already looking at real estate.
Green would be a great manager. Shame he can’t do two jobs.
Vientos has been profoundly disappointing in every season but 2024. A late surge means much less than an early hot bat when it was needed to help avoid collapse. Could he be traded post-season for a prospect?
Vientos has shown some flashes again recently, but as Reese acknowledged, the only role he fits is the DH against left handed pitching. There is not room on a 26 player roster for that type of specialization.
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