Mark

Vientos

The absence is again due to the Achilles tendinitis that cost him Tuesday’s game before he played the last two days. He’ll probably be back in there Saturday. Mark Vientos is stepping in for him, which makes this his fourth straight start after going the first four games without one.

Vientos victimized Giants’ left-hander Robbie Ray for a 406-foot (108.6 mph EV) solo shot to lead off the second inning, pulling the Mets to within a run at 3-2. That would be as close as they would get in the ballgame. Ater an absolutely brutal spring training, Vientos is now off to a 3-for-8 (.375) start to the season with a homer, one RBI and only one strikeout.

Vientos got the nod at DH against a righty probably mostly because of Jorge Polanco’s Achillies problem, but the Mets went ahead and had Baty hit for him against another righty in the seventh. Vientos is probably going to play mostly against lefties for now, which means he should be in there again Wednesday with the Mets facing Matthew Liberatore.

Polanco will get some extra rest in this one while playing through a relatively minor Achilles issue that flared up last weekend. The 32-year-old veteran should be considered day-to-day for now. He’s likely to be limited to DH for the immediate future. It’ll be Mark Vientos taking over at DH with Jared Young covering first base.

Vientos has had a miserable spring, going 1-for-25 (.040) in eight contests with the Mets, following a forgettable stint with Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic. The 26-year-old figures to open the regular season in a platoon role with Brett Baty at DH and his fantasy value is almost nonexistent in shallow mixed leagues.

Vientos has been ice cold at the plate during his time in Mets’ camp, hitting a woeful .048 (1-for-21) with a 4/0 K/BB ratio. With Brett Baty hitting the ball so well this spring, it’s possible that he pushes Vientos for at-bats if his struggles linger into the start of the regular season.

It’s rather odd seeing Vientos, the one active major leaguer in Nicaragua’s lineup, batting fifth behind Ismael Munguia and Emanuel Trujillo. Still, that all worked out today. Munguia, who hit .246/.313/.342 for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate last season, went 3-for-3 with a walk, and Trujillo, who has never played in the U.S., homered to plate both of Nicaragua’s runs.

Vientos’s three balls in play today were all in the 103-105 mph range, though one was turned into a GIDP. He’s going to need more days like this as he tries to show the Mets he deserves to keep playing against righties. The hit today was his first in 14 plate appearances this spring.

Tauchman hit .263/.356/.400 for the White Sox last year and has averaged a .359 OBP and 1.4 fWAR per year as a platoon guy the last three seasons, but no major league offers were forthcoming, it seems. He seems like a nice get for the Mets as a DH and fallback right field option against right-handers, though there might not be room for him if Carson Benge makes the team. If they do somehow carry both Benge and Tauchman, that’d be more bad news for Mark Vientos.

This fits with the Mets’ stated goal this offseason to improve their team defense. Vientos has been a below-average defender for much of his professional career, but he also took a step back offensively this year, hitting .233/.289/.413 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 121 games. He did make more contact, lowering his strikeout rate below 25 percent, but he was essentially a league-average player for the Mets. With Brett Baty outplaying Vientos at third base and Jorge Polanco now in town, there may not be room for Vientos, so the Mets could deal him to acquire an impact starting pitcher.