Mets veteran Jose Iglesias' counseling paying off for teammate Mark Vientos: 'I was 24 once'

WASHINGTON — When Mark Vientos, demoted and dejected, joined Triple-A Syracuse at the start of the season, the whole unfortunate situation felt familiar to Jose Iglesias, a veteran and Vientos’ spring-training locker neighbor.

Here was a talented young infielder who had spent parts of the previous couple of years in the majors. To his surprise, he found himself back in the minors. And he — naturally — wasn’t happy about it.

Iglesias faced the same situation in 2013 with the Red Sox and, by all accounts, did not handle it well. More than a decade later, Iglesias sought to help Vientos endure his own version of such an episode, becoming a mentor and offering advice that has helped spur their shared recent success in the majors with the Mets.

“I was 24 once,” Iglesias, 34, told Newsday on Tuesday. “I see the potential the kid has. Vientos has a bright future in front of him. Everything I did down there was passing the torch and the experience I’ve been through. All the things that worked and didn’t work for me. See it, talk about it, try to save time for him. Try to make as quick an adjustment as possible.”

That adjustment seems to have been made. Vientos has taken the third-base job from Brett Baty and entered Tuesday batting .339 with a 1.070 OPS in 18 games. Iglesias, called up last week, started at second base over Jeff McNeil for a second game in a row and third time in five games, with manager Carlos Mendoza opting to reward his 5-for-11 line before Tuesday's game against Washington.

For Iglesias, this has been a new lease on big-league life. He had last appeared in the majors in 2022 but now is in his 12th season with his seventh team.

For Vientos, it has been the sort of opportunity that eluded him in his previous stays in the majors: regular playing time at his natural position.

“He tells me every day he feels like a rookie,” Vientos said. “That’s how excited he is.”

Back when Iglesias was actually a rookie, he didn’t have the same demeanor. He’d dabbled in the majors in 2011-12 but shortly into 2013 wound up back in Triple-A. His attitude suffered. When he didn’t run out a ground ball, his manager, Gary DiSarcina, who later was a Mets coach, benched him for a string of games in early May.

“The way I've approached Iggy is, have a little patience with him, give him a few days to come back down to earth and realize where he is,” DiSarcina told WEEI.com in Boston at the time. “He's not on a rehab assignment. He's on the Triple-A team to get his at-bats . . . You can say to a player, ‘Hey man, it's a raw deal. You're getting a raw deal. You went up there, you did what you're supposed to do and you exceeded expectations. But reality is reality. You're here now.’”

Iglesias waited it out, was called back up by the end of the month and was traded to Detroit in July on Boston’s road to a World Series championship. All these years and professional stops later, he took a liking to Vientos, whose skill and work ethic he praised.

At his age and stage, Iglesias wanted to share his experiences.

“Nobody wants to get sent down. But he took it in a very professional way,” Iglesias said. “Every time Vientos is around me, we always talk together. He’s a guy who wants to get better. He’s got me next to him. It’s a privilege and I’m very, very blessed. Being our first year together, the trust is very high. I’m very proud to be part of his career.”

The most salient advice, according to Vientos: “Trust your ability.” Even if you’re not in the majors at the moment, if you’re good enough, it’ll all work out.

“When I was down in Syracuse, he was one of the mentors, guys in my ear, helping me out, telling me how to play the game the right way,” Vientos said. “Honestly, every time he speaks, I’m all ears . . . He’s like, you got it. Just go out there and be you.”

Diaz getting better

Edwin Diaz (right shoulder impingement) is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment Thursday, Mendoza said. He threw a 21-pitch bullpen session Tuesday.

The Mets expect him back as soon as he is eligible, which will be Tuesday, when they play the Marlins to open a homestand.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

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.