Mets make shocking move, demote Mark Vientos amid Starling Marte return

Good news: Starling Marte returns to the New York Mets after missing a few games. Bad news: at the expense of fan favorite slugger Mark Vientos.

Marte was reinstated from the bereavement list after the outfielder missed the past three games because of personal reasons confirmed by manager Carlos Mendoza and infielder Vientos was optioned to Triple-A affiliate Syracuse, the organization announced Tuesday.

Before Vientos’ surprise call up – which was a part of a series of weekend moves for New York – he was performing well for the Syracuse Mets. The 24-year old was slashing .302/.388/.535/.923 with five home runs, 22 RBI and 12 walks, making the most of his 98 total plate appearances in 23 games at Triple-A.

Vientos impressed and drew some buzz in his brief three-game stint at Citi Field. He went 3-for-7 in two games against the St. Louis Cardinals and one against the Chicago Cubs, including a walk-off two-run home run to give the Mets a 4-2 victory vs. St. Louis on Sunday. He platooned with Brett Baty over the weekend and drew the start at third base Monday.

When it came to the most logical roster move to temporarily replace Marte’s void, Vientos made the most sense. The corresponding “demotion” doesn’t come as a shock to Vientos.

Moving forward, Vientos’ primary two positions are the corner infield positions – third base is being occupied by Baty (.253/.319/.313/.632) and first base is for slugger Pete Alonso so long as he and the organization want him to remain in Flushing. For now, Vientos at the hot corner isn’t an ideal fit for the Mets, but his bat remains consistent, which will likely keep him in Quadruple-A limbo.

The Mets have lost three of their first four games on this seven-game home stand, dropping to 14-14, but remain in third place in the National League East. New York’s offense averaged three runs per game in the time missed by Marte; the Mets could have used his punch at the top of the batting order after Luis severino carried a no-hit bid into the 8th inning in a 3-1 loss Monday.