Mark Vientos Has One Path To Remain In Mets' Plans For 2027 and Beyond

If we judged Mark Vientos’ season by simply looking at his .218/.267/.405 line that comes with 13 home runs, 39 RBIs, a 84 wRC+ and –0.1 fWAR, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that it has been a mediocre year at best. And, yes, Vientos has never come close to being the hitter who impressed when he hit 27 home runs in the 2024 season, and then played the postseason like a veteran accustomed to being under the October lights. Since then, his offense has fallen below expectations. It is true that he has had to battle injuries, but in his playing time he has been a negative player for the team in any way you analyze his contribution.

I love FanGraphs for this type of breakdown, and there you can see Vientos with -1.3 BsR, -6.7 Off and -11.8 Def. In other words, he's been a below-average player in every aspect of the game in 2026. He has not been able to take advantage of the opportunity to move to first base, and the metrics show that he has been a disaster. Among 86 qualified first basemen, Vientos is second with the worst Fielding Run Value (-7), being surpassed only by Bryce Harper (-10). That is the reason why the Mets have been one of the teams with the most first basemen used, and all of them have put on a better defensive performance than Vientos. Jared Young (+1), Brett Baty (-2) and even catcher Luis Torrens (+0) average a higher Fielding Run Value.

In fact, the only defensive aspect in which Vientos has excelled is in the new First Base Receiving metric, where he ranks 15th with +1 Receiving OAA. Either way, the point here is that Vientos is not producing anything the Mets need out of a franchise cornerstone at the cold corner.

If we look toward 2027, there is only one way for his offensive profile to fit into the lineup. It is the only skill Vientos has not yet lost, and it is his ability to hit against left-handed pitchers. At the same time, that has been one of the Mets’ main problems, as their right-handed hitters have registered the second-lowest BABIP (.268) against left-handed pitchers in the entire league, the third-worst on-base percentage (.301), and the ninth-worst wRC+ (96).

Here are all the Mets’ qualified right-handed hitters with at least 80 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers this season. Vientos leads in the main production metrics, and his wRC+ and ISO are among the top 20 in the entire league.

This is not a new story for the Mets, as Vientos has always been consistent against southpaws (even if he's rarely ever been so against right-handers).

In 2024, his breakout season, it was the only one in which Vientos managed to find the balance when he recorded a 125 wRC+ with 20 of his 27 home runs against right-handed pitchers. During the following campaigns, you can see how his performance has hinged almost entirely on his ability to crush left-handed pitching.

The main potential of the Mets’ lineup is in their left-handed and switch-hitting batters, led by Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, and Jorge Polanco (plus Jared Young and Brett Baty). In that plan for 2027, Vientos fits as a high-profile right-handed platoon hitter. That may not be quite the role we all envisioned when he was a top-tier prospect rising through the farm system, but it appears to be his best bet to salvaging his tenure with the Mets.

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