If the Mets trade Mark Vientos, he won't be leaving without a fight...
Mark Vientos hit a grand slam, and was robbed of another home run as the rumor mill swirls around him. Also - the Mets blew a four-run lead and lost to the Padres
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost to the Padres 7-6 to open their three-game series in San Diego (Box)
Frankie Montas started for the Mets and was handed a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning thanks in part to a Mark Vientos opposite-field grand slam in the top half of the frame, but he allowed four runs to score in that inning to blow the lead
Huascar Brazoban made a mental mistake on a PFP play in relief of Montas and allowed a run in the fifth
After Ronny Mauricio tied the game in the ninth with a solo home run, Gregory Soto dug his own grave with a throwing error, allowed two hits and an unearned run to give the Padres a walk-off win
The Mets did have more chances to score, but went 1-for-7 with RISP on the night
Rumor Mill 💨
The Mets are open to dealing Mark Vientos ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline (SNY)
The Mets have shown interest in acquiring Brandon Lowe from the Rays (NY Post)
Harrison Bader is drawing interest from the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees (ESPN)
Play of the Game 🌟
The Mets lost for a number of reasons on Monday night, but the loss was culminated by Gregory Soto’s throwing error with Xander Bogaerts on first and nobody out in the ninth when he threw the ball wide of second on what should’ve been an easy 1-6-3 double play on a poor bunt from José Iglesias.
Bogaerts would eventually score on Elias Diaz’s game-winning RBI single, completing the comeback win for San Diego.
Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday.
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (62-45) @ Padres (58-49)
Where: PETCO Park - San Diego, CA
Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.19 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Bergert (1-0, 2.84 ERA)
When: 9:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
That chip on Mark Vientos’ shoulder was on full display Monday night… ✍️
If you didn’t stay up to watch this game after the top of the fifth inning, that was probably good for your soul.
Because it was ugly after that for the Mets, pretty much all around.
After Mark Vientos went 1-for-2 in home run attempts early on in this game, the Padres bullpen essentially shut the Mets offense down. Frankie Montas and Huascar Brazoban couldn’t contain a leak mired by bad pitching and poor play in the bottom of the fifth, and Gregory Soto did himself in with a really bad throw in the ninth to give the Mets what they really deserved on the night, which was a gut punch of a loss to start their series against the Padres.
That pretty much sums up what many of you might’ve missed. And for those who decided to stay up and watch that mess, you are a true baseball soldier.
Look - it happens. The Mets had been on a roll with their seven-game winning streak. They were back to looking like the Mets who started the season 45-24, getting pitching that was 1000 feet over their heads despite a hit-and-miss offense. They were bound to lose a game - it’s just disappointing it came after they jumped Dylan Cease in the fifth inning and had a four-run lead.
If there’s any consolation to that uncomfortable loss, it’s that the Phillies lost to the White Sox and they maintained their 1.5-game lead in the NL East. The Phillies let the Mets hang around after their pedestrian June and have yet to truly take advantage of anything the Mets screw up.
Maybe that will end up being the Phillies loss and the Mets gain when it’s all said and done at the end of September.
Anyway, despite that dud last night, there was quite a bit of good worth mentioning. And as you know, I tend to like to see the glass as half full around here, as opposed to most who are conditioned to see the glass as half empty.
It starts with Vientos, who has had a painstaking season after a wonderful and what we had all hoped would be a transformational 2024 season. His name is suddenly popping up in the rumor mill ahead of the trade deadline, understandably considering he is an offense-first player right now and the Mets have seen a promising uptick with both Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio. They can’t continue to carry all three and afford them the necessary playing time/at-bats, especially with Starling Marte on the roster and his surprisingly productive bat from the right side this season.
So, it makes sense for there to be some buzz around Vientos. Now, I wouldn’t trade Vientos for relief pitching unless the pitcher coming back can potentially succeed Edwin Díaz, who can opt out of his contract at the end of the season and become a free agent. That means such a reliever needs to be controllable beyond 2025 and be shutdown-caliber. Not a specialist, not a single-faceted arm.
It would need to be a bona fide closer-in-waiting.
Having said that, one thing I have always admired about Vientos is his ability to rise to the occasion, shrug off negativity, and really play with a chip on his shoulder. He did that last season when the Mets brought in JD Martínez, which in turn marginalized Vientos’ role on the big league club at the time and sent him packing to Triple-A.
He proved everyone wrong there, came up, and proved everyone wrong here.
Fast forward to today, and there’s Vientos with seemingly that same chip on his shoulder. He parked one over the fence early on last night, but Fernando Tatís Jr. made an unworldly catch to rob Vientos of a two-run homer, but he got another chance and a little more barrel and put one out of reach of Tatís for a grand slam in his next at-bat, both of which were against Dylan Cease, an arm the Padres are reportedly shopping ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
Despite the result of the game, those were two of the most encouraging at-bats Vientos has had all year. He has unquestionably looked better over the last couple of weeks, but he had been mostly a singles hitter up until this point and had lost most of his playing time at third to the surer-handed Baty and the hotter bat in Mauricio.
And a singles-hitting designated hitter doesn’t exactly work at this level, or any level for that matter.
I don’t know what the next 48 hours are going to bring for Vientos. I am not even sure the juice is worth the squeeze in a potential trade that includes Vientos. And of course, the Mets certainly don’t want to get burned moving Vientos and seeing him thrive elsewhere, especially when they know what his ceiling is at this level. Personally, I am hoping he hits his way off the trade block and into the Mets’ success down the stretch of this season, but, like I said before, something has to give with this roster logjam, especially when they need more production at other positions and need more pitching in general.
Around the League 🚩
Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg passed away at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed a run over seven innings and both Shohei Ohtani and Kike Hernandez drove in two runs in the Dodgers 5-2 win over the Reds
The Royals and Seth Lugo agreed to a two-year, $46 million extension
The Phillies got a rough start from Cristopher Sánchez and their bats were quieted in a 6-2 loss to the White Sox
The Twins scored two runs in the ninth to walk off the Red Sox 5-4
Yeah, the RISP was 1-7 (the Padres were 7-15) but what may be an even more damning stat coming out of the game is that the top 4 in the lineup whiffed 11 times ... compared to just 4 for the bottom 4. They weren't even putting the ball in play. And what may be an unpopular remark that I have alluded to in the past: Soto should stop trying to be the umpire. He doesn't get to call his own balls and strikes. He needs to understand the ump's tendencies and play his game accordingly. And, yes, who am I to give advice to a generational player who is destined for Cooperstown?
Listen, I get the Vientos saga. I know what he did for the Mets last year. If you want him to DH for you for the next 5/6 years then he stays but his glove is UN-playable at third and at first. He even had a glove that allowed a ball to go through it this season which just proves his worthlessness in the field. Baty is great at third and playing a damned good second too. Maurico is just slick at third too and can play second but prefers to be on the left side of the infield. Looking at that kid’s swing is like seeing the Sistine chapel. It effortless as the ball explodes off of it. He currently has the hardest hit ball of the season and keeps stacking them. If Pete leaves I’d stick Baty at first and Mauricio at third and Vientos at DH (if he’s still here). Baty and Mauricio can’t be moved. Acuna can be replaced by Jett. We do have a bunch of infielders ready but as we all know Lindor ain’t going anywhere. Baty is hitting and Mauricio is tearing the cover off the ball right now and since Soto told him to let the ball travel further it’s like a switch went off. Makes you wonder how our hitting coaches still have jobs but that’s another essay for another day as they should all be fired for the RISP problems of the last couple of years. Bader will be back. More arms are coming to help the Bullpen. Than god we didn’t trade for Clase. MLB sucks for waiting so long to suspend him too. If he had been traded and they did that it would’ve been bullshit to the max. Blackburn might get moved. Megil should be a full time pen arm too as the starter experiment should be done. Tough loss last night but we will get em tonite. LGM!