Mark Vientos lands on IL with hand fracture

He’s “obviously going to miss weeks” per DiComo. Vientos has struggled this year, hitting .211/.253/.388 with 11 homers — and just .169/.215/.297 in 158 plate appearances against right-handers. The Mets may do the simple thing and add Ronny Mauricio back to the roster here for the weekend, but it’s possible they’ll look for a replacement first baseman.

Vientos took Chris Sale deep for a two-run homer in the sixth inning to cut into the Braves’ lead. It wouldn’t matter much as Atlanta pushed their lead to 11 runs by the time Vientos added a base hit in the ninth. The 26-year-old first baseman is almost exclusively playing against left-handed pitching on a short-side platoon. He’s hitting .213/.252/.391 with 11 homers, 25 runs scored, and 35 RBI across 250 plate appearances.

The Mets are simply easing Lindor back into a full-time workload after missing so much time with his calf injury. Bo Bichette will slide over and cover shortstop while Mark Vientos starts at the hot corner on Sunday afternoon against Phillies’ southpaw Jesus Luzardo.

Mauricio fractured his left thumb on May 3rd and was expected to miss six to eight weeks, so he’s right on track in his recovery. With how much the Mets’ bats have slumped, it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to come back and push Brett Baty, Eric Wagaman, or Jared Young back to the minors. Mark Vientos has no minor league options left, which is why he will likely remain.

With left-hander Nick Lodolo on the mound, the Mets will turn to Mark Vientos at first base and bat him fifth. Zack Short will also play shortstop and bat ninth, with Bo Bichette moving to third base and Brett Baty getting the day off. Young had been hitting well for the Mets, but he’s slashing just .147/.194/.265 over his last 10 games. He’s not the answer at first base.

Vientos and MJ Melendez have been alternating starts of late. Vientos played over Melendez in four straight games from May 27-31, but since then, Melendez has gotten the nod in three out of five games. Vientos can reemerge as a regular if he gets hot, but he’s batting just .218/.253/.378 right now.

Vientos did his damage early in this one, demolishing a Max Meyer fastball for a 445-foot (109.2 mph EV) solo shot in the third inning that extended the Mets’ early advantage to 5-1. That would be his only hit in four at-bats in the contest. For the season, the 26-year-old slugger is now slashing .224/.261/.391 with seven homers and 24 RBI.

Vientos had the Mets only hit off of Max Meyer through seven innings on a base hit in the second inning. With a runner on in the ninth, he prevented the Mets from getting shut out, driving in a run with his second hit. The 26-year-old slugger is hitting .237/.277/.404 with six homers, 16 runs scored, and 23 RBI across 166 plate appearances. A 20.5 percent strikeout rate and 47.5 percent hard-hit rate are indicative of perhaps some better luck on the way at the plate for Vientos.

Vientos doubled home two runs in the third, and then picked up his third RBI of the game on a fielder’s choice. The infielder has now driven in 22 runs with a slash of .234/.277/.422 over the first 45 games of the campaign.

Vientos was practically the lone source of offense for the Mets here. His solo home run in the second inning stood as their only run until the top of the 10th when he hit an RBI double on the first pitch of the frame. After being lifted for a pinch runner, Carson Benge drove his replacement Vidal Bruján to give the Mets a valuable insurance run. That means Vientos had a hand in all three of the runs they scored in this win. While it doesn’t always look pretty, Vientos has four home runs, 11 RBI, and an .824 OPS over his last 15 games as he tries to reestablish himself as a true middle of the order bat.