'It didn't look good': Vientos' hamstring injury could lead to long absence for Mets
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LOS ANGELES -- Amid the late dramatics of their 4-3, 10-inning win over the Dodgers on Monday, the Mets may have lost a key offensive piece for the foreseeable future.
Designated hitter Mark Vientos injured his hamstring running to first base in the top of the 10th inning. The Mets sent Vientos immediately for testing but were unaware of the results as of late Monday evening. Asked how serious the injury might be, an emotional Vientos replied, “I’m not sure,” saying he would address the matter further on Tuesday afternoon.
“It didn’t look good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s going through all the testing, and we’ve got to wait and see.”
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Batting with two men on base in the 10th, Vientos hit a ground ball to the left side and began sprinting toward first in an effort to beat it out. After a few steps, however, Vientos fell face-forward to the dirt. He scrambled to his knees but could not do more, grabbing immediately at his right hamstring.
After a moment, Vientos walked off the field slowly.
A breakout player for the Mets last year, Vientos hit 27 home runs with an .838 OPS in 111 games. But he has struggled to replicate that success this season, batting just .230 with six homers and a .678 OPS over his first 53 games. In recent weeks, Vientos has lost third-base reps to Brett Baty and DH opportunities to Jared Young. Monday, he came off the bench to replace Young as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Mendoza said after the game that he planned to speak with president of baseball operations David Stearns, who is not in Los Angeles, about options to replace Vientos should he miss significant time.
The flashiest possibility is Ronny Mauricio, the Mets’ No. 9 prospect who has a cartoonish .515/.564/.818 slash line through nine games at Triple-A Syracuse. But Mauricio only recently made it to that level after missing the entire 2024 season rehabbing from multiple knee surgeries. The Mets have taken him along slowly, and it’s not clear if they would be willing to promote Mauricio at this time given their desire to keep him healthy long-term.
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Other infield options at Syracuse include veterans Luis De Los Santos, Donovan Walton and the newly signed David Villar, who inked a Minor League deal with the Mets last week.
“I’ve got to talk to David [Stearns] here,” Mendoza said. “I just got back from the training room, and we’ll have those conversations.”