If there's one player the NY Mets trade away this offseason, it's him...

There is always one storyline that hangs over an offseason like a porch light, and for the New York Mets, it keeps shining on the same unsettled roster spot. You can hear it in the way David Stearns talks about who fits cleanly into next year’s plans, who has carved out defined roles, and who still needs to show a little more. One player gets discussed, but never with the same confidence. The tone around him always feels one beat different.

That difference always matters. Offseasons are where front offices make their real decisions, not in the quotes but in the moves that follow. While some players are locking down their places, one is drifting closer to the bubble, the kind of spot where a club starts taking calls instead of offering assurances. If the Mets ship someone out this winter, all signs point in the same direction, and it is becoming increasingly hard to miss.

All signs point to Mark Vientos as the Mets player most vulnerable to a trade

If you listened closely to the GM meetings, Stearns all but outlined the depth chart. The moment Brett Baty’s name came up, the tone shifted from evaluation to affirmation. Significant playing time at third base is waiting for him, and the numbers justify every bit of that confidence. Baty posted 4 DRS and 2 OAA, then spent the back half of the season hitting .291 with a .353 on-base and an .830 OPS, adding nine home runs and twenty RBI. That is the profile of a player a team plans around, not one they debate.

The contrast arrived quickly. Mark Vientos did not receive that kind of endorsement, and the numbers explained the silence. His defensive season landed at -10 DRS and -7 OAA, the kind of metrics that turn ground balls into negotiations with fate. Stearns labeled him a bat-first player, which is front-office code for the glove won’t carry you. When defense narrows your path, the bat has to loudly force the issue, and Vientos simply did not produce the kind of season that reshapes an organization’s plans.

The Pete Alonso discussion removed whatever mystery was left. Stearns made it clear that part of the plan, should the Mets bring Alonso back, involves giving him more at-bats at designated hitter. When a franchise slugger is being mapped into the DH spot before the contract is even signed, that role becomes exclusive property. It is not a shared lane. It is reserved for the bat you trust most, and that bat belongs to Alonso if he returns.

Piece the comments together and the picture is unmistakable. The Amazins found stability at third, positioned DH time for their star if he re-signs, and narrowed the roster in a way that leaves little room for a bat-first player without a defensive home. If someone is getting moved this offseason, logic keeps circling the same name. In a winter full of possibilities, Vientos' outcome feels like the only certainty.