Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 14 seasons full-time on the beat. This week, Derrian Carter is chipping in on the newsletter. |
The Mets, already spiraling, are now set to be without their most productive hitter for at least a significant chunk of June. They’re going to have no choice but to figure out a way to forge ahead without him.
With the news that Pete Alonso is likely to land on the injured list before Friday’s series opener in Pittsburgh, the Mets will need to dip deeper down their roster to try to replace Alonso's sizeable production,
That doesn’t mean finding another player to bash homers at Alonso’s rate -- a rather absurd 22 in 62 games before his IL stint. But it does mean receiving more from Mark Vientos and Mark Canha, the two players likely to receive the bulk of first-base reps in Alonso’s absence.
Vientos started at third base Thursday, but went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. After weeks of halting playing time since his Major League callup, Vientos now has an opportunity to prove he belongs in the Majors long-term.
“He's played some first base,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It's not something he's not familiar with. Just trying to get him out there. He’s gonna play today and tomorrow, obviously, and, hopefully, he can kind of get going and give us a little help offensively.”
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According to Showalter, Canha is likely the Mets’ best defensive first baseman after Alonso. But (two strong games last week against the Phillies notwithstanding) Canha has struggled at the plate all season, with a .712 OPS in 54 games. Mets officials have also been wary of using Canha every day since he signed with the team before last season.
That should result in plenty of playing time for Vientos, who had 47 hits, 13 homers and 37 RBIs and slashed .333/.416/.688 earlier this year at Triple-A Syracuse. A natural third baseman, Vientos started at first for Syracuse 43 times and has played the position sparingly in the Majors. Thursday was his first start there.
More than defensive aptitude, however, the Mets need offensive pop. In limited Major League action, Vientos is 6-for-37 (.162) with one home run, four RBIs and one walk with 12 strikeouts, taking some of the shine off the excitement surrounding his callup. Against righties, where he had success in the Minors, his slash line is .167/.200/.292, whereas .154/.143/.154 against lefties.
Vientos is struggling at the plate, but the data suggests he is bound to bounce back. His expected batting average is .262, his expected slugging percentage is .491 and his actual slugging percentage is .243. The drastic jump for his slugging comes from his ability to hit homers, but it hasn’t translated so far this year.
This is yet another opportunity for Vientos to carve a role in the Mets’ lineup whether or not Alonso is there -- though the team needs his hitting prowess. The Connecticut native just has to seize the opportunity.
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Who holds the Mets’ rookie record for hits as a catcher?
A. Travis d'Arnaud
B. Todd Hundley
C. Jason Phillips
D. Josh Thole
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Omar Narváez returned to the Mets’ lineup Tuesday, hitting a ground-ball single and scoring a run against the Braves. He was activated from the injured list on Monday after landing there in April with a calf strain. The 31-year-old’s return led to Tomás Nido being DFA’d, leaving Narváez, who signed an $8 million deal in 2023 with a player option worth $7 million for 2024, and rookie Francisco Alvarez as the team’s catching duo.
“Very excited to be back with the team and finally can catch an MLB game, after two months being hurt,” Narváez said.
In Narváez’s absence, Alvarez stepped up, receiving high praise from Max Scherzer for his catcher work and providing another powerful bat. He has hit .244/.299/.551 with 11 home runs -- which is tied with Phillips for the second most home runs by a Mets catcher in his rookie season -- and 23 RBIs.
Still, Showalter is not committed to one primary catcher, and the rookie and the vet may evenly split catching duties.
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Major League Baseball postponed three games -- White Sox vs. Yankees, Tigers vs. Phillies and D-backs vs. Nationals -- on Wednesday and Thursday because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. The natural disaster has caused the air quality to become extremely poor, forcing multiple sports to halt or reschedule games, practices and events.
Although the Mets aren’t in Flushing and won’t return to New York until next week, Showalter has seen the images of the yellowish gray haze engulfing the Northeast.
“My wife sent me some pictures back home,” Showalter said. “It's a little scary. Looks like [something] from sci-fi movies.”
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THIS WEEK IN METS HISTORY |
June 9, 2016: The Mets selected Alonso in the second round of the Draft, taking him with the 64th overall pick. A power-hitting star in college, Alonso lasted as long as he did because of his positional inflexibility and shortcomings at first base. But he could always mash. During his junior season at the University of Florida, Alonso hit 14 homers with a 1.128 OPS in 58 games. He smashed 59 home runs in the Minors before debuting on Opening Day 2019.
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A. d’Arnaud
Once a top prospect, d’Arnaud recorded 92 hits as a catcher during the 2014 season, breaking the franchise record held by Mike Fitzgerald. Although Phillips racked up 120 hits as a rookie, the bulk of those came while he was playing first base.
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