The most surprising move the NY Mets haven't made this offseason

We went into this offseason knowing a few things. There was a really good chance the New York Mets would let Pete Alonso walk. Jeff McNeil was a stone cold mortal lock to get traded. Ryan Helsley was personally driven to Baltimore in the basket of a bicycle by Steve Cohen.

The Mets did a lot of what we thought they would but even more what we didn’t envision. It made the offseason refreshingly exciting even if it came with a whole lot of unpredictability.

What about those moves we thought they’d make but never did? There’s still some runway to make it happen. However, it seems like it will require the Mets to have a no-lose situation in order to make it happen. The most surprising move the Mets never made this offseason was a trade involving Mark Vientos

Hey, what’s Mark Vientos still doing here?

An emphasis on run prevention had every Mets fan drawing up potential trades involving Vientos this offseason. Of course, the Mets hardly prioritized run prevention. They started off by trading Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien then put on the brakes to build a roster with multiple abilities. They can outscore you. They’ll also make plenty of errors along the way.

Boldly going with Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco on the corner infield spots has a chance to work out far better than it would to plug Vientos in at either spot. We know what he is at third base. First base should yield better results, but how do they really know? Vientos is currently situated as the first base alternative to Polanco with Brett Baty as another consideration if he doesn’t end up as a regular in left field.

Vienos appears to have been bumped into more of a DH role which suits him well. The Mets’ DH plan includes a rotation of players, Vientos feeling like he’s the most well-positioned to take on the largest load if he does manage to make it to Opening Day.

No one should be too upset about Vientos sticking around. His monstrous 2024 season isn’t all that long ago. He’s inexpensive, controllable, and maybe just a move off of third base away from being able to concentrate on what got him to the big leagues in the first place, his bat.

Vientos started 69 games at third base, another 39 at DH, and 3 at first base for the Mets in 2025. We should expect those third base starts to disappear and maybe mimic the amount of times we saw Nimmo in center field over the last three seasons: sparingly. First base starts will rise while those DH opportunities should be the largest extent of his playing time.

Recent trade rumors involving the Pittsburgh Pirates have left the door open for a potential late offseason trade. However, the Pirates don't really seem to have anything other than surplus pitching to give the Mets. What's more, you eliminate a pretty important puzzle piece to the 2026 lineup by trading away Vientos.

Vientos may have originally been an intended trade candidate by the Mets and for a variety of reasons (a lack of satisfying offers at the top of the list) they may have decided to build with him.