TAMPA, Fla. — Mark Vientos leaned back against the painted cinderblock wall located just outside the visitor’s clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The rim of his hat sat just above his forehead and the eyeblack smeared across his cheek, likely runoff from sweating on a humid Friday afternoon.
About two hours earlier, the 6-foot-4 infielder put the Mets on the board against the Yankees with a 354-foot home run opposite field, over the right field wall. It was his fifth home run of the spring.
“It feels good to hit a home run,” Vientos said, “every time I hit one.”
Standing before reporters, Vientos didn’t appear too thrilled. Despite posting a .537 slugging percentage, second to Pete Alonso (.543), and leading the Mets in home runs in camp, he likely feels his opportunity to break camp with the Mets slipping away, especially after they signed designated hitter J.D. Martinez, pending a physical, on Thursday.
Vientos learned about the signing via his agent. Asked for his reaction, Vientos provided something much more tempered than his teammates had earlier in the day.
“Nice,” he said, a blank look on his face. “Nice, good for the team.”
The addition of Martinez takes one possible opportunity for Vientos, who was seen as a possibility at DH this season, away. Of his 81 career games in the big leagues, the 24-year-old appeared as a DH 50 times.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza refers to the Martinez signing as a “rumor” for now since the deal isn’t official. He did admit, however, to having a conversation with Vientos, where he told him to “keep doing what you’re doing.”
Vientos took that literally, hitting his home run in his first at-bat since the conversation, but it didn’t take the sting away from having worked extremely hard for something that doesn’t appear to be coming to fruition — at least, not yet.
Vientos is still competing for the starting job at third base, but Brett Baty appears to be running away with it. Baty is better…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply