NEW YORK -- Mark Vientos’ disappointing season took another downturn when he was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday after he fractured his right hand during the Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Royals at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon.
Clearly in pain upon being struck on the right hand by a 92.2 mph Michael Wacha sinker in the bottom of the second inning, Vientos initially stayed in the game, but he did not go back out on defense for the third. Vientos will not require surgery and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks.
“It definitely sucks because I want to be with the team and play with the guys,” he said. “I’ve been hit in the hand before. I started to realize this [injury] was different when I was on first base and the hand started to feel a little numb. It was a painful feeling. … The hand was swollen and there was no way I could grip the ball.”
Through 73 games, Vientos was batting just .211/.256/.388 with 11 home runs, losing playing time to various teammates. He has not been able to recapture the magic of what appeared to be a breakout 2024 season. That year, Vientos produced an .838 OPS. In two seasons since, his OPS has fallen to .680.
But Vientos was still slugging .539 against left-handed pitchers, which made him a potential trade candidate for the out-of-contention Mets heading into the Aug. 3 Deadline. A significant injury such as a hand fracture could sap most if not all of his already limited trade value.
Over a five-year career with the Mets, Vientos has 65 homers with a .716 OPS. He is under team control for three more seasons after this one.
“I’m just disappointed for him today, honestly,” interim manager Andy Green said.
Defensively, after posting some of the worst metrics in the Majors at first base, Vientos made his second start of the season at his old position of third base on Thursday. His injury later forced the Mets to slide Brett Baty over to third, while A.J. Ewing moved to second for the first time in his Major League career. Though Ewing appeared in 53 games at second base in the Minors, he has focused more on center field over the past two seasons. That should continue even with Vientos hurt.
“He really, really saved us today,” Green said of Ewing, noting that he doesn’t expect the rookie to play much second base going forward. “We still see A.J. as a center fielder, who was a wonderful safety net for his teammates today.”
With Vientos on the IL, the Mets recalled infielder Zack Short, who is in his third stint with the Major League club. He played for New York in 2024 and last year. Short will most likely be a defensive replacement around the infield.
In the meantime, with Vientos out, Green indicated that Eric Wagaman will likely see a lot of time against left-handed pitching. For the season, Wagaman has a slash line of .214/.313/.429 with two home runs and four RBIs, but is 6-for-22 (.273) against southpaws.