The New York Mets will be without MVP candidate Juan Soto for the next couple of weeks due to a calf strain, but his absence has been a plus for infielder Mark Vientos, who is off to a strong start to the 2026 season.
As Anthony DiComo of MLB.com points out, Vientos has been an indirect winner following the Soto injury. Brett Baty has taken over Soto’s spot in right field, which has thinned the competition at first base. Vientos started just twice during the first two series of the year. Since Soto went down on Friday, April 3, against the San Francisco Giants, the infielder has started every game.
Vientos barely made the team out of camp after a brutal MLB Spring Training performance. The 26-year-old hit .057 in 11 games of spring action. He’s completely turned it around in the regular season. Vientos has slashed .370/.400/.556 across 30 plate appearances to begin the campaign.
Mark Vientos Seeing Increased Playing Time After New York Mets Lose Juan Soto to Injury
Vientos emerged as a crucial piece in the middle of the Mets’ lineup in 2024. He launched 24 home runs and finished with a superb 132 wRC+ in 111 games. It was the former top prospect’s first extended look in the big leagues after brief stints in 2022 and 2023. Vientos kept it rolling in the postseason, delivering a .998 OPS in 55 at-bats. The infielder smashed five home runs in the playoffs that year, including three dingers in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2025 season was a significant step back for Vientos. He played a career-high 121 games, but the production didn’t follow the bump in opportunities. Vientos slashed .233/.289/.413 across 463 plate appearances, translating to an underwhelming 97 wRC+. He also struggled mightily with the glove. As the Mets’ regular third baseman, Vientos earned -10 Defensive Runs Saved across 556 innings at the hot corner.
The down year last season put Vientos’ roster spot in jeopardy. The Mets went out and handed Bo Bichette a three-year, $126 million contract to play third base. Longtime first baseman Pete Alonso left for the Baltimore Orioles, but New York brought in Jorge Polanco to take over at the position. The Mets also traded for Marcus Semien, eliminating any chance Polanco would see time at second base. Vientos didn’t have a clear path to playing time, outside of platoon work at DH.
Can Vientos Maintain This Level of Production?
Vientos has taken a step forward from a plate discipline perspective so far this season. He’s trimmed his strikeout rate to 20%, which would easily be a career-best mark across a full year. His swinging-strike rate is down to a career-low 14.1%. Vientos has a bloated 27.8% strikeout rate in his big-league tenure. Even in his strong 2024 season, he struck out at a near-30% clip.
The contact improvements have come with a decline in batted ball metrics. Vientos has multiple seasons with a hard-hit rate above 50% under his belt. He’s posted a 36.4% mark this year, which is just below league average. After three straight years with a double-digit barrel rate, Vientos has just one barrel on the year, good for a 4.5% rate.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Mets Slugger Gets a Boost From the Juan Soto Injury appeared first on Heavy Sports.