Acce s the Mets beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets. Mark Vientos posted a monster second half of the 2024 season for the Mets after spending a couple of early stints in the minors. This years extended absence amid another slow offensive start for Vientos was due to spending more than three weeks on the injured list after he suffered a hamstring injury in early June. The slugging third baseman is expected to be activated from the 10-day IL ahead of Fridays game in Pittsburgh, with an eye on reestablishing himself as a lineup mainstay again over the final 80 games. Oh, man, its good to be back with the guys and seeing a bunch of faces that I mi sed, and officially playing with the team pretty soon, the 25-year-old Vientos said in the Mets clubhouse before at Citi Field. I feel like theres always a trend with me and first halves throughout my career. And I feel like thats a good thing, that its a long season. Baseball is a long season. Thats why, when they say, Change [the schedule from] 162 games, Im the one that says, No, I want all those games. Mark Vientos is batting just .230 with six homers as he gets ready to return to the Mets on Friday. Jason Szenes / New York Post Indeed, Vientos emerged from his early-season demotion to Triple-A Syracuse to finish last year with 27 home runs and 71 RBIs with an OPS of .837 over 111 games. Explore More He then added five more homers and a team-best 14 RBIs in 13 postseason appearances. Mark, hes a big part of this team. We saw what he was, what he did for us last year, and were counting on him again, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. Hes a guy who can drive the ball to all fields and give you good at-bats. The power is real. Were going to need him. We get him going, were talking about having a deep lineup one through nine. And when you have a guy like we saw last year, he can hit anywhere in the lineup 2-3- Mike Scott Jersey 4-6-7. You just add to the quality of the players that we have on that roster. Vientos was batting just .230 with six homers and a .676 OPS in 208 plate appearances when he was injured June 2 in Los Angeles. Mark Vientos celebrates after hitting a double during the Mets win over the Rockies on June 1, 2025. Robert Sabo for New York Post I feel like, as I had time off and I thought about the past couple months, its just like, hey man, its part of it, Vientos said. Like, if you thought you were going to come into the league again, especially the big leagues, and think that it was going to be a walk in the park, you have another thing coming. I kind of got humbled a little bit, and I appreciate that. Its not clear who could be sent down when Vientos is activated. Infielders Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or spare outfielder Travis Jankowski would most likely be moved out. Baty, mostly a third baseman, has had some important moments this season with eight homers and 27 RBIs in 59 games through Wednesday. He also is capable of playing second base, as can utilityman Jeff McNeil and Mauricio. The way I see it is, this continues to be a puzzle where I have to work the pieces and put everything in place, Mendoza said. Theres gonna be a few spots in the lineup that are gonna be kind of rotating, and I think thats a good problem to have, the way I see it. Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Ive been saying this since Day 1, talking about depth and how good our team is because of the quality and the quantity that we have. So there will be at-bats for everyone in there on the active roster, and I will make sure we communicate with them on a daily basis, and they understand were here to win baseball games. Vientos wasnt activated immediately because he had played the previous two days in the minors, including registering two hits Wednesday for Syracuse. Obviously, the hamstring was the main thing, but theres a couple little things that I needed to take care of with my body, Vientos said, referring to a daily routine he worked out with the training staff. Because the last thing I want is something like that to happen again. Raul Neto Jersey
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