The New York Mets have cruised through the first quarter of the season, and their bats are starting to click. Brett Baty is one of those players beginning to get into a groove. The only issue is that he plays second base and third base.
Luisangel Acuña and Mark Vientos have been red-hot at the plate, so Carlos Mendoza can’t afford to take them out of the lineup. However, Jesse Winker is on the IL, and Starling Marte is struggling. The DH spot is wide open, and Mark Vientos could be the perfect DH to keep Baty’s bat in the lineup.
Vientos was recently asked if he’d be okay as the DH more with Baty swinging the bat well. He answered by saying,“Absolutely.”
It shouldn’t be surprising that Vientos is willing to put the team first. At the same time, he’s been killing it offensively as of late and had a breakout season in 2024. Across his past 20 games, the 25-year-old is hitting .311 with a .912 OPS and five home runs. Being okay with letting another young player hold down his position shows how mature he already is.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe toThe Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
The best Mets lineup should feature Vientos as the DH:
- SS Francisco Lindor
- RF Juan Soto
- 1B Pete Alonso
- LF Brandon Nimmo
- DH Mark Vientos
- 3B Brett Baty
- C Francisco Alvarez
- 2B Luisangel Acuña / Jeff McNeil
- CF Tyrone Taylor
Mendoza has a great problem on his hands. The Mets' offense has been surging recently. Finding at-bats for Baty will be challenging, but moving Vientos to DH could be in his best interest.
If Baty continues to hit — over his past 15 games, he’s hitting .289 with four home runs and a .978 OPS — they’ll have no choice but to DH Vientos.
Everyone already knows how good the Mets' lineup is with Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso atop. If Baty continues to rake, the Mets will have a better lineup than many have expected. Even when Winker is healthy, Mendoza would have to DH Vientos more often.
New York always knew Baty had potential, and he’s starting to show it as of late. It wasn’t too long ago when he was one of the top prospects in MLB. He could make the Mets’ lineup much deeper, which would help them stay atop the NL East.