A major deciding factor in the weekend series between the New York Mets and New York Yankees came down to an errant throw by Pete Alonso in the 8th inning with ducks on the pond. The airmail led to a 6-run inning for the Yankees and no shot at the Mets coming back.

The far too familiar gaff wasn’t the only one on the night for the Mets. The first batter of the game reached on an error by third baseman Mark Vientos. It’s no shock to see Vientos struggle so often at third base. He came to the majors with questions about his ability to field the position. More than just errors, which he has 6 of already this year after a season where he made 5 in all of 2024, he tends to be sloppy with a lack of urgency and even skill. His lack of range is showing up in the numbers, now resting near the league bottom of Outs Above Average among players at all positions.

Vientos finished last year at -7 OAA. This season, he’s already at -6, tied for the third worst in MLB, and not showing any signs of improvement.

Mark Vientos is looking more and more like third base isn’t for him

The Mets haven’t had the need, desire, or availability to put Vientos at any position other than first base this year. He had 10 games at first base in 2023 and another 4 in 2024. Not all of them were starts. With Pete Alonso playing practically every day, the rare spot start across the diamond hasn’t been in the plans, although we should expect it at some point. If only the Mets could call a timeout and have Vientos do the throwing.

In the absence of Jesse Winker, opportunities to DH have opened for Vientos. Assisting in the change is the recent success of Brett Baty whose bat has helped to justify moving Vientos off of third base. Before he returned, the Mets’ only options at the hot corner were Jeff McNeil and far more inexperienced Luisangel Acuna.

Vientos has had a productive albeit somewhat quiet May. He hasn’t been driving in runs and most of his hits have been singles. A home run on May 11 and a double the following day are his lone days with extra-bases. And yet he has a hit nearly every other game, just not one that has led to bolstering his RBI numbers. Batting .296 this month with a pair of extra-base hits and only 3 RBI is deceptive in either direction if you don’t look at the whole picture.

Strangely, Vientos looks more like the player he seemed destined to become minus the power we know he can deliver. To his credit, his strikeout numbers are significantly down from the 29.7% he finished last season at, hovering around 20%.