The New York Mets are getting some help to improve their infield play. New York is calling up top prospect Mark Vientos to the club, per NewsDay Sports. Vientos is expected to get some playing time at third base for the Mets.
The move is expected to take some pressure off of Brett Baty, who has struggled recently for New York. The third-baseman is batting poorly in recent games, with only two hits in his last 21 at-bats.
Mets' season
The Mets are having an up and down year. The team lost the first five games of the season, only to return the favor later on in April with an impressive win streak. The team is 13-12 overall, and looking for some more consistency with its bats.
Baty is one of the keys to the Mets' success. On the season, the third baseman is batting .256, with a homer and nine RBIs. His slugging percentage has cratered though in the last seven games, as he has only two hits in that period. He doesn't have any home runs or runs batted in in the last seven contests. Baty left a game recently with hamstring issues, and the Mets have struggled with Baty's bat cooling off. The team has lost five games in a row.
The team is giving Vientos an opportunity to provide some pop to the offense. Vientos is a former top prospect for the organization, who batted .211 last season for the team. He hit nine home runs and collected 22 RBIs in 65 game appearances for the Mets last year. Vientos said he's not sure what his role will be quite yet this year.
“They haven’t said anything yet. Whatever they want me to do, I’m here for it,” Vientos said, per the New York Post.
Vientos was having a great season in triple-A baseball this year. The third baseman was swinging the bat with a .302 average for Syracuse, to go with five home runs and 22 RBIs. He hit a home run on Friday, a day before being called up to the big leagues. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza says Vientos earned his opportunity.
“The way he’s playing,” Mendoza said, per SNY. “After having a tough end of spring training, when he gets the news he’s going down, he put his head down, go down there, continue to work. All the credit to him. He’s earned it and he’s here.”
The Mets are in action Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 Eastern. It's not clear at time of writing how much of a role Vientos will play on Saturday. Mendoza is commending the young player for staying patient after not making the opening day roster.
“He’s a professional. For a young player that comes into camp with high expectations…it’s not easy,” Mendoza added. “He was disappointed, obviously. The one thing he can control is to go out there and continue to get better, continue to work on the things you need to be working on and play hard, and he’s done that.”
Mets fans are hoping Vientos can help turn the ship back around. New York is trying to pick up its first win in the last six games against the Red Birds.
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