"During the winter, the organization made the decision, which will likely seem pretty smart in the long term but was highly unpopular in the moment, to let another team pay full price for Pete Alonso's next five seasons. To replace the franchise's all-time home run leader, the Mets signed Jorge Polanco with an eye on moving him to first base. Vientos, along with fellow not-quite-busted corner infield prospect Brett Baty, was surely a trade candidate during the offseason, but wound up on the opening day roster as depth and a platoon-specific option at designated hitter."
"That those three have not recreated Alonso's (middling-to-poor) early production with the Orioles in the aggregate is not surprising, really. Polanco has been more of a designated hitter than a second baseman in recent seasons, and hurt more often than healthy for much of his career; he had never previously been a first baseman and will turn 33 in July. Baty is by far the superior fielder at first, and has looked competent with the glove wherever the team has asked him to stand, but could most politely be described as an enigmatic offensive contributor; Vientos is the most capable of hitting the ball over the fence."
"That Polanco could miss a bunch of games was always a possibility, and that is happening now; after a slow start, he was placed on the IL in mid-April with a bruised wrist and a debilitating and stubborn case of Achilles bursitis that has shown every indication of becoming a classic Mysterious Lingering Mets Ailment. Though he was cleared for baseball activities earlier this week, Polanco by all accounts cannot really do any of those baseball activities right now."
""We need to get asymptomatic with the ankle and with the bursitis," Mets President of Baseball Operations"
The Mets’ offseason decisions left them with a first-base plan that relied on Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos. Polanco was signed to replace Pete Alonso’s power production, with an expectation that he could move to first base, but he has mostly played designated hitter, has often been injured, and has never previously played first base. Baty has shown defensive competence at first base but has been inconsistent offensively. Vientos provides the most home-run potential among the group. Polanco’s wrist injury and Achilles bursitis led to a mid-April placement on the injured list, and even after clearance for baseball activities, he cannot currently do those activities due to ongoing symptoms.
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