Mets call up Mark Vientos to replace Starling Marte, lose Drew Smith to IL
Mark Vientos after the last out during the Mets game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Credit: Ed Murray
Mark Vientos is getting another shot — for a few days, at least.
The Mets called up Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday to fill the roster spot vacated by Starling Marte, who went on the bereavement list.
After Marte headed home to the Dominican Republic, manager Carlos Mendoza said they expect him back and on the active roster Tuesday, so it may well be a short stay for Vientos.
He went 1-for-2 in a 7-4 loss to the Cardinals after replacing Brett Baty as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.
“My message to him is be ready for your opportunity,” Mendoza said. “Today, tomorrow, the next day, who knows? He’s got to take it day by day, be ready for your chance. He will be.”
Vientos said: “Whatever they want me to do, I’m here for it.”
This marked Vientos’ first promotion since the Mets sent him to the minors near the end of spring training, a surprise move given their need for a DH (a role in which DJ Stewart has performed well).
At the time, president of baseball operations David Stearns said Vientos was “frustrated, but he’s a professional.” Mendoza said “he wasn’t happy.”
With the benefit of a month of hindsight and a return to Citi Field, a calm Vientos said he wasn’t frustrated and tried to turn the unexpected stay in Syracuse into something productive.
“More like secure with myself. I know how good of a player I am. So I wasn’t really frustrated,” he said.
“Just work on the little things, taking everything day by day, staying in the present, enjoying the people around me and the coaches and learning. Not seeing what the future holds. When you think in the future, that’s when you stress yourself out. I was just living in the present.”
Is that difficult?
“To be honest with you, yes,” said Vientos, 24. “But I feel like it’s making me a better player and a better person every day, so I can only appreciate it.”
Vientos played well with Syracuse, slashing .302/.388/.535 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 23 games. He said he was working on “nothing in particular” and “everything.”
The Mets selected Vientos because of “the way he’s playing,” Mendoza said.
The only other healthy position players on the 40-man roster are infielder Luisangel Acuna and outfielder Alex Ramirez, who aren’t quite ready for the majors.
“There was a need and here we are. He made it easy on us to call his name,” Mendoza said. “It’s one of those where after having a tough end of spring training, when he gets the news that he’s going down and put your head down, go down there, continue to work. All the credit to him. He’s performing. He’s earned it. He’s here.”
Reliever Smith on IL
The Mets put Drew Smith on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to Wednesday. He’s the second regular reliever they have lost to injury in a week.
Righthander Dedniel Nunez was brought back from Syracuse to replace him.
Mendoza said the Mets are optimistic that Smith will return about when he is eligible (May 9).
“We don’t think it’s anything serious,” Mendoza said. “We got some type of good news after the MRI just showed shoulder inflammation, so we don’t anticipate this being long-term.”
Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) recently resumed throwing and has a bullpen session scheduled soon. The Mets expect him back in a little over a week.
Megill gets moving
Tylor Megill (right shoulder strain) struck out all six batters he faced with High-A Brooklyn, his first rehab start. He recently said he expects to have about three such outings.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
