Mark Vientos injury saves the NY Mets from making a goofy trade deadline mistake

A fractured hand lands Mark Vientos on the IL for a couple of weeks, thus ending any realistic possibility of the New York Mets trading him. It was already questionable if they even would. Under team control for a few more seasons and less than two years removed from his awesome 2024 campaign, there are probably those within the front office who still think there’s something there.

It would have been a mistake to trade him at such a low point in the coming weeks. In particular, the kinds of offers the Mets would have received from contenders wouldn’t have been so irresistible. He’s closer to a DFA candidate than an actual game-changer. Losing him now saves them from making a goofy mistake and handing him over for practically nothing.

More importantly, it’s the specific teams who’d actually come calling about Vientos. There are a lot of uncertainties with the upcoming CBA. One thing that is definitive is how teams should be scared shirtless financially. Whether you spend big or small, you’re going to want affordable players like Vientos on your roster. This makes Vientos more intriguing for future trade possibilities for both serious World Series contenders as well as ones just looking to fill out a roster.

The Mets are better off waiting for the field to open up with Mark Vientos

If the Mets were going to move on from Vientos, doing it at a low in a lost season is probably not the best. Slashing only .211/.256/.388 this season with 11 home runs, the irregularly used but available power is the one quality that remains his best. Nearly everything else we desire from a ballplayer has lacked. He can’t field, run, hit for average, or even stand there patiently and draw a walk.

There were no shortage of Mets rumors involving a Vientos trade in the offseason. The Pittsburgh Pirates sounded obsessed with him. The Mets tried to trade him instead of Luisangel Acuna to the Chicago White Sox for Luis Robert Jr. Chicago chose the man they did.

Still able to hit lefties with a .281/.316/.539 slash line this season, there’s a time and place to use Vientos and that’s in very specific and limited instances. He actually matches well with the Mets in a situation where their other best first base option is Jared Young. But a Vientos/Young duo at that position only works when the rest of the team is playing out of their minds.

One of this summer’s sellers would likely end up as a more appropriate match for Vientos in a trade. The same could be said for any team about to lose a first baseman/DH in free agency. This includes the Pirates yet again who should probably go younger than Marcell Ozuna.

The offseason market of third basemen is light, but Vientos’ inability to play the hot corner or even first base makes him a tricky pickup for anyone. You’ll need patience which anyone who has driven in the Tristate area believes is a made-up word by the Brothers Grimm. 

The Mets wouldn’t be wrong to shop Vientos at any point. The mistake they’ve made is limiting opportunities and accepting the bare minimum.

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