NEW YORK —
The
Mets
haven’t gotten much production out of third base since
Mark Vientos
went down with a right hamstring strain on June 2 against the
Los Angeles Dodgers
.
Fortunately, the injury was considered low-grade, and Vientos has been able to ramp up quicker than expected.
On Saturday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided an update on his young third baseman.
“He ran yesterday up to 90%, (and) he’s a full-go as far as hitting (and) taking groundballs,” Mendoza told reporters on Saturday. “The goal is for him to play in some games in Triple-A next week.”
In 11 games without Vientos, players filling in at the position, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio, are 11-for-66 (.166 batting average) with four home runs.
This is in stark contrast to the offensive consistency Vientos provided to the position. In his last 35 games, Vientos was batting .273/.323/.446 with 10 extra-base hits.
In Saturday’s 8-4 loss
to the Tampa Bay Rays, both Mauricio and Baty homered, showing signs of life in their mostly silent bats.
Mauricio, in particular, was called up with much excitement after Vientos’s injury after going 17-for-33 (.515 batting average) with three home runs in nine Triple-A games before getting the call.
In the big leagues, he’s shown he needs more time to adjust. In nine games, he’s 5-for-34 (.147 batting average) with two solo home runs.
“He’s been on and off,” Mendoza said. “We saw a couple of good games in Colorado, but then missing pitches in the strike zone and then they’re making him chase. Again, i’ve been saying it, we gotta be patient with him. He missed a lot of time.”
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