Mets' Mark Vientos being optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, will not make Opening Day roster
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns announced on Sunday morning that Mark Vientos is being optioned to Triple-A and therefor will not be on the Opening Day roster.
Veteran Ji-Man Choi will also not make the team, while infielders Brett Baty and Zack Short will.
Additionally, it appears that, at least for now, outfielder DJ Stewart will make the Opening Day roster in the final bench spot, but the team will ultimately make that decision on Wednesday when the 26-man roster needs to be set.
With the addition of veteran slugger J.D. Martinez this week, it became clear that Vientos was not going to get the every day share of DH at-bats. And with Baty getting the starting job at third base, the Mets wanted Vientos to be able to play every day, primarily at third, and that's what he'll be able to do with Syracuse.
With Vientos and Martinez both in Triple-A to start the season, the Mets’ bench to start the 2024 campaign will be Joey Wendle, Tyrone Taylor, Omar Narvaez, Short, and Stewart, though Stewart’s spot seems tentative.
Vientos put together a solid spring with the Mets, showcasing his power with five home runs to go along with a .795 OPS. There was a thought that Vientos would at least be on the club for the first 10 days of the season, as Martinez will start the year in Triple-A to get ramped up as quick as possible, but instead he'll start the year in Syracuse.
"He’s frustrated. He’s a professional, and I think he certainly would have preferred if he would have gotten the other news and stayed on the major league club. I would expect frustration," said Stearns. "And now his challenge is to turn that into motivation to do everything that he can to get back, and I think he will do that."
The Mets signed Martinez to a one-year, $12 million deal late this week, with much of the money differed.
On Sunday, Stearns explained how the deal came to be, and what the veteran slugger brings to the 2024 Mets.
"I think J.D., the impact that he can provide from an offensive standpoint to a club is clear," Stearns said. "We’ve been in contact with Scott (Boras) really throughout the offseason on a variety of his players, including J.D., and it just gained some momentum and materialized over the course of spring training and ultimately we were very pleased to be able to get it done this week."
