5 things to watch as Mets and Cubs play four-game set at Citi Field

Here are five things to watch as the Mets and Chicago Cubs play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Monday...

What will happen with Mark Vientos?

Vientos performed very well late last season when he was given a legitimate chance to play -- especially power-wise -- and had the inside track to the DH job heading into the 2024 season until the Mets signed J.D. Martinez.

Called up from the minors with Starling Marte on the bereavement list, Vientos delivered late on Sunday. He singled in his first at-bat and then blasted a game-winning, two-run homer to center field in the 11th inning.

After the game, Carlos Mendoza said Vientos will be in the lineup for the series-opener against the Cubs. But what happens beyond Monday?

Marte is expected to be back on Tuesday or shortly after, and the Mets will have to make a 26-man roster move to clear room.

They could simply send Vientos back down to Triple-A, but it can be argued that sending him down doesn't make much sense. However, in order to keep Vientos on the roster, the Mets would likely have to cut ties with Joey Wendle (the only backup middle infielder on the 26-man roster, so that's not happening) or demote Brett Baty.

About Baty...

Brett Baty is struggling at the plate

After a strong start to the season, Baty -- who was out of the lineup for a bit due to a hamstring issue -- has regressed.

His batting average (.256) and OBP (.322) are relatively fine, but he is slugging just .317.

Baty is hitting .120/.214/.160 over his last nine games, and has only three extra-base hits all season (one homer and two doubles).

Meanwhile, a look at his Baseball Savant page shows a number of concerning trends.

Baty's xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel percentage, hard hit rate, and chase rate are all near the bottom of the league.

And his propensity for hitting ground balls has continued, with him hammering the ball into the ground 55.2 percent of the time -- roughly five percent worse than his ground ball rate was in 2023.

Luis Severino looks to keep rolling

Severino was literally perfect for the first four innings during his last start in San Francisco, but bent a bit in the fifth -- due in large part to some soft contact finding grass.

But Severino -- as he has in every start this season since his first -- looked very good.

In 27.0 innings over five starts, Severino has a 2.67 ERA (3.33 FIP) and 1.25 WHIP. He has allowed only two home runs, has pitched at least five innings in each start, and has tossed six innings each of his last two starts.

Severino gets the ball for Monday's series-opener.

First look at Shota Imanaga

Imanaga was in the shadows a bit this offseason with most of the free agent attention paid to fellow Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but it's Imanaga who is off to the better start.

In fact, he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.

In 27.2 innings over five starts, Imanaga has a 0.98 ERA (2.42 FIP) and 0.79 WHIP.

He has struck out 9.1 batters per nine and walked a miniscule 1.00 batter per nine.

Imanaga is set to face off against Jose Butto on Wednesday night.

Challenging early-season schedule continues

The Cubs have lost two in a row, but enter this series with a record of 17-11 -- a half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central.

And Chicago is just the latest opponent for the Mets in an early-season schedule that has seen them face mainly teams that are expected to be in contention for playoff spots.

The Mets haven't yet gotten a crack at the 6-23 Miami Marlins, the 7-21 Colorado Rockies, or any of the teams in the basement of the American League (the 6-22 Chicago White Sox, 9-19 Houston Astros, 10-18 Los Angeles Angels, and 12-17 Oakland Athletics).

New York also hasn't faced the Washington Nationals, who are 13-14 but not expected to have staying power.

Aside from a three-game series against the Marlins in the middle of May, the Mets will face stiff competition for the next month, with upcoming series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Guardians, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks.