5 pleasant 2024 Mets season plot twists we can wish for

Sometimes within minutes of watching a movie or TV show you'll know the twist is what will make or break how you feel. A good twist ending is the difference between The Sixth Sense and The Happening. Killer plants? Little Shop of Horrors did it better. Even the most mundane New York Mets season will have plot twists no one saw coming. Far too often, they slant negatively.

What about the more positive ones? R.A. Dickey winning a Cy Young. Jacob deGrom becoming an ace almost immediately. Mike Piazza coming to Queens only days after he went to Miami.

Hand us a pen. We want to sign up for these five pleasant plot twists.

1) Mark Vientos wins the starting third base job

Expecting Mark Vientos to take off and secure a more permanent spot in the Mets lineup isn't a spectacular twist. To write in a plot point about him winning the third base gig over Brett Baty is something else. Not even David Lynch would add this to one of his films because of how out of reach it has seemed.

For Vientos to win the third base job, a lot will have to swing in his favor. Baty will either need to be unavailable or bad enough where he isn't even a consideration. While not so pleasant for Baty, it’s a huge turn in favor of Vientos.

Long thought of as a DH in the making, Vientos wouldn't be the first player to suddenly figure things out defensively. It's his bat that will ultimately lead the way in determining how much playing time he gets. However, minimal competition at the hot corner can provide him with an opening to change the plot for him in 2024.

If the test audience thinks this is too unkind to Baty, they can share the position.

2) Luis Severino outpitches Marcus Stroman

Mets and Yankees fans at each other's throats is nothing new in our social media driven world. Neither team can make a questionable move or suffer a heartbreaking loss without fans of the other experiencing some sense of Schadenfreude.

This year, the two players fans in New York will keep a close eye on are Luis Severino and Marcus Stroman. The former Yankee is a Met. The ex-Met is now a Yankee. Comparing the two is a must in 2024.

Severino came to the Mets on a “prove it” type of deal while Stroman went for the likeliest best offer. At different stages of their career with perceived different expectations, the twist here is for Severino to have the better season.

It's not as outlandish as first meets the eye. Their career numbers aren't far off. Severino's best seasons, while a bit more distant, outmatched Stroman.

Imagine the Yankees letting Sevy leave only to pay more money to Stroman and watch him have a better season from their guy. It's the kind of twist we're all begging to see happen. We don’t care how much it hurts the emotions of Yankees fans either. Collateral damage? They’ll get over it.

3) Ronny Mauricio returns and he's spectacular

Ronny Mauricio has been written off this season, but a return isn't impossible. What if he does his best surprise entrance late in the year and joins the Royal Rumble for the team's final push?

Mauricio returning this year and having any sort of positive impact is pretty useless if the Mets aren't very good anyway. To keep it in the scope of a Royal Rumble return, it’s an unexpected up-and-coming wrestler showing up and getting eliminated quickly.

Due to his injury, there’s a chance we put Mauricio in the back of our minds for a couple of months. It’ll be Luisangel Acuna highlighting the infield options for the Mets down the stretch.

For some added drama, this plot twist has Mauricio doing his best impression of Kyle Schwarber from 2016. An outfielder at the time for the Chicago Cubs, he was injured in his second game of the season in April. He didn’t return until the World Series where he’d slash .412/.500/.471.

Give us this from Mauricio and he’ll become a Mets legend.

5) Brandon Nimmo becomes the power bat this team was missing

Brandon Nimmo had a weird year in 2023. He did a lot of the things he had done well. Several of his other numbers declined slightly. It's hard to really complain about him with a straight face. Nimmo is what he is and that's a really good player with the occasional issue whether it be injuries or suspicious center field defense.

A twist Nimmo already offered us last year was his sudden surge in power. Could it be a change in his approach? A more powerful Nimmo can come in handy for the Mets, especially with his move to left field where traditionally you want a guy with pop.

What if Nimmo will continue to give the Mets 25 home runs a year? Why not go to 30?

Outside of his high OBP numbers, Nimmo never has fit as the perfect leadoff hitter anyway. He doesn't steal bases. Some years he has been a strikeout machine a little too much.

Nimmo may actually be evolving before our eyes. In an offseason where we've begged for the Mets to sign a power bat, him answering the call would be a pleasant twist. Maybe then Carlos Mendoza can even shake up the lineup. Francisco Lindor at the top with Nimmo batting second or third might actually be the greatest benefit for everyone. Lindor can steal bases more freely. Pete Alonso is at the plate with a runner on first more often.