Mike Francesa's vote of confidence in slumping NY Mets player feels like a jinx

A vote of confidence is rarely a bad thing unless it comes from Mike Francesa. His long history working in New York sports radio gave him a reputation for a few things. One is getting things very wrong. So to see him suggest anyone deserves more playing time on the New York Mets comes with a little hesitation.

On his podcast, Francesa urged the Mets to give Vientos plenty of playing time rather than once or twice a week. He proposed the alternative of trading him now, instead, before his value tanks.

Francesa isn’t wrong, but he’s also far from right. The Mets would have undoubtedly moved on from him this offseason if the offers were out there. What’s really left for them to trade him away for? Few teams would have the pitching depth to offer the Mets, the one thing they could always use more of. It’s a pickle they’ve created for themselves with a positionless player they’ll make earn every at-bat.

In true Mike Francesa form, Mark Vientos is doing nothing to suggest he should play more

Vientos is now 0 for 10 with a pair of strikeouts and a hit by pitch this spring. Regularly appearing at first base for the Mets, he’s going to be someone who’ll swap between that position and DH throughout the year.

Uncertainty with Francisco Lindor’s health to begin the year could always pave the way for more regular action in the early weeks of the season. Carson Benge failing to make the club can push Brett Baty into right field sometimes as well, giving Vientos more regular at-bats.

Likely, Vientos sees a large majority of his playing time come as a right-handed bat against lefty starters. He hit .250/.287/.453 against southpaws last season. Those numbers were inferior to what he did against righties in 2024 when he batted .251/.314/.502. 

One of the biggest unanswered questions for the Mets is how they’ll spread the wealth of at-bats between Vientos, Baty, and Jorge Polanco. All three are candidates at first base and DH with Baty as the backup just about everywhere other than shortstop and center field. Lindor being unavailable to begin the season can push Baty to third base and Bo Bichette to shortstop. It would only be a temporary way to give Vientos the everyday at-bats Francesa would like to see.

The issue the Mets face with any potential Vientos trade is that he’s an out of options right-handed DH coming off of a bad year. There is a better chance of him exploding than there would be with any of the remaining free agent veterans 5-10 years older with some of the same limitations. His power, while diminished last year, wasn’t completely absent.

Mets fans have every reason to root for Vientos to be a success in New York. What doesn’t seem likely is a golden ticket to an everyday role. The simple fact that he hits better against lefties than righties (as one would expect) puts him in a situation he’ll have to hit his way out of. Opportunities will come. He’ll have to outplay Baty by a significant margin against right-handed pitchers to get those chances.