Mark Vientos, the underdog of the Mets franchise, could be named one of the most important players on the Mets 2024 roster. In 107 games, Vientos is hitting an average of .272 with 26 home runs, and as a third baseman, he has only made 5 errors. For the past two years, Vientos was never given the opportunity to show off his talent in the major leagues, and now that he has become a full-time player for the Mets, the organization can only be filled with regret for not playing him sooner.
Initially, Vientos was brought up in 2022 from Triple-A Syracuse due to Starling Marte being put on the injured list. However, Vientos was only given the chance to play in 13 games. Mark Vientos was later brought up to the major league in May of the 2024 season, when his friend, but third baseman rival, Brett Baty was going through a major rough patch. After a 15-day competition between who would be the franchise’s third baseman, Vientos won, and Baty was sent back down to Triple-A Syracuse.
One of the main reasons for not bringing up Vientos sooner was a lack of confidence in his fielding abilities. In 2023, he played both first and third base, and in the 65 games he played, he only made 4 errors. Additionally, in his 2023 season, although he only had a batting average of .211, he hit 9 home runs in that short span of time. However, after this pretty impressive showing of Vientos’s abilities, he was sent back down again with the return of Starling Marte and the hopes that Baty would be able to take on the role of third baseman.
Now that Vientos has been up for the majority of 2024, he has become a fan and franchise favorite. Not only has he been one of the most consistent players on the team, he could be considered one of their best players. Comparing his season to the supposed best players on the team, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo, he has a higher batting average than Nimmo and Lindor and is less than 10 home runs away from Alonso and Lindor, and taking into consideration he hasn’t played as many games, they are almost equal.
Assuming Vientos will be the third baseman for the entirety of the 2025 season, it could be said that he may have a 40-home-run season if he continues going at this rate, making him just as good as Pete Alonso. And with Alonso becoming a free agent at the end of this season, and with his expectation to be paid more than the consistently good Freddie Freeman, if the Mets’ and Alonso are unwilling to settle on a reasonable contract, Vientos does have experience playing first base. Who would play as the third baseman in this scenario is up for debate, but Vientos is more than capable of filling Alonso’s shoes.
As the Mets go into their final games of the regular season and are currently in a Wild Card playoff position, the Mets fans are hopeful. The Mets are just one game above the Braves going into their series against the Brewers, meaning the Mets need to win this series. The last two games of the Braves vs. The Mets’ series was rained out, so they will be facing a double-header to end their regular season, and it will determine who will be going to the playoffs. The team has a solid foundation for this to be their year, and Mark Vientos is a huge part of the reason why.
