Future could be now for Mets prospects Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez
Mark Vientos has 16 homers, 46 RBIs and an .837 OPS in 66 games this year for Triple-A Syracuse. Credit: Rick Nelson
LOS ANGELES — Two of the most prized Mets, non-Flushing edition, were locker neighbors Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez — teammates on the National League squad for the Futures Game — also share a clubhouse at Triple-A Syracuse, so the office setup wasn’t all that unusual.
But the status of both inside the Mets’ organization remains a very fluid situation, especially with Saturday’s revelation that the Nationals are prepared to make Juan Soto available, as reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
At this stage, it would be an extreme long shot for the Mets to just empty the farm system for three seasons of Soto.
“I really try not to focus on social media or rumors or chatter or anything like that,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “All I can do is focus on myself, on my day-to-day, and that’s what I try to take care of. Rumors are going to be out there, but I just try to focus on myself.”
Before Soto wound up on the block, the questions involving Alvarez and Vientos mostly centered around how soon they could be promoted to help the Mets in the second half.
Vientos — who started at first base Saturday — is considerably closer in that respect, as his 16 homers, 46 RBIs and .837 OPS in 66 games at Syracuse make him an attractive in-house option to boost the Mets’ pathetic production at DH.
Vientos is well aware of the drumbeat getting louder for his Flushing arrival.
“It is what it is — you do hear it and you do see it,” he said. “But that’s where you’ve got to stay focused. Just focus on the present, what you can control. And right now, what I can control is I’m going to enjoy this moment that I have this weekend and I’m going to get back to work when I get back to Syracuse. We’ll see what happens.”
The Mets are taking a longer-term view with the highly touted Alvarez, who has logged only eight games at Syracuse and needs more development.
Alvarez, who started Saturday at DH, crushed 18 homers in 67 games at Binghamton, with a slash line of .277/.368/.553, but is 2-for-23 (.087) with a double and nine strikeouts since his promotion.
“For me, it’s all kind of the same, to be honest,” he said. “Sliders have the same break. Obviously, baseball is different at different levels. But for me, it’s all the same game.”
Although James McCann will be on the injured list with an oblique strain until next month, the Mets are wary of rushing Alvarez despite their obvious need for an upgrade at the position.
Alvarez did get the benefit of catching Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom during their rehab stints, with both aces coming away impressed by his maturing abilities.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do,” Alvarez said. “And to have pitchers of that caliber say nice things about me, it feels great.”
He knows there’s plenty to work on, however.
“I think the most important thing for me is just knowing what pitch to throw in certain situations,” Alvarez said. “For example, when you have a runner on base, or remembering what a batter did in his previous at-bat. Just remembering and identifying the important pitches in certain situations.”
Until Alvarez starts raking at Syracuse the way he did at the lower levels, the Mets really can’t consider him an answer to their lineup vulnerabilities. But it’s different for Vientos, who could be getting that call shortly after the All-Star break.
“It’s exciting because of the fact that I’m right there and that close,” he said. “I’m excited to join them and see if I could be a big part of that.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
