In one weekend a mild NY Mets position battle brewed, both players looking robust

The bidding has officially gone wild. What started as a quiet auction for New York Mets third base duties has turned into a full-blown frenzy, with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos repeatedly outbidding each other like two sleep-deprived collectors locked in a 2 a.m. eBay auction. One posts a nice play at third base. The other raises with a two-hit game. A home run to extend the lead early in the game. That gets matched with a home run to take the lead late in the game. Each new performance feels like someone clicked “place bid” with five seconds left on the clock. And while there's only one third base spot available, neither Vientos nor Baty seems interested in getting outbid.

The NY Mets suddenly have a position battle that’s not just working, it’s driving production in a lineup that needed a spark.

After getting recalled from Triple-A on May 5, due to Jesse Winker heading to the IL, Brett Baty didn’t walk back into a wide-open showroom, he stepped into a high-stakes bidding war with a clock ticking loudly over his shoulder. Jeff McNeil was back in the lineup, Luisangel Acuña was starting to nudge his way into locking down the second base position, and Baty knew the listing for “New York Mets 26-man roster” wouldn’t stay active forever.

Then came May 9th, the opening night of the Cubs series, when Carlos Mendoza had Vientos watching from the dugout for a second straight game while Baty and McNeil took the field. Suddenly, it looked like Mendoza was auctioning off third base and designated hitter by the day, and the only currency that mattered was match-up and production.

Baty threw down a serious bid. In three games against Chicago, he went 4-for-8 with three homers and six RBIs, including all five runs in Saturday’s loss, basically shouting “final offer” with every swing. Vientos didn’t blink. Since that two-game pause, he’s answered with a 4-for-9 stretch, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBIs. His sixth-inning shot on Sunday didn’t close the game, but it gave the Mets a lead at the time and helped as they went on to win 6-2.

Credit to Carlos Mendoza for not slamming the gavel too early. Instead of locking into one name and closing the listing, he’s let the bids fly and the Mets cashed in all weekend because of it. Between third base and DH, the lineup turned into a high-yield investment, with both Baty and Vientos driving in runs, launching homers, and making this “position battle” feel more like a tag-team offensive showcase. It’s not often that a manager can squeeze this kind of production from two players vying for the same job, but Mendoza’s flexibility has kept both hungry and hitting. As long as this auction stays open, Baty and Vientos seem more than willing to keep refreshing the page and placing their next bid.