The New York Mets were swept for the first time all season this weekend by the Tampa Bay Rays. Their excellent offense and pitching both disappeared at different points, leading to frustrating home losses. Good news did come out of Sunday’s loss, however, as reinforcements are on the way. And it has nothing to do with the upcoming MLB trade deadline. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced a start date for Mark Vientos’ injury rehab in Syracuse.

“He’s playing Tuesday for Syracuse,” Mendoza said of Vientos, referencing the AAA Syracuse Mets. He said, “We’ll see how that goes” when asked about the length of the rehab assignment.

Vientos suffered a hamstring injury in the Mets’ June 2 game against the Dodgers. The injury interrupted a poor season for Vientos, with just a .678 OPS through 53 games. In 111 regular-season games last season, he posted an .837 OPS and was dominant in the postseason. That has not been the case this year for the third baseman.

Article Continues BelowThe Mets also have Sean Manaea continuing his rehab assignment from a pre-season oblique injury. He allowed three earned runs in 4.1 innings with A+ Brooklyn this week, sparking some concerns about the veteran pitcher. Frankie Montas is also entering a rehab assignment just as Kodai Senga hits the injured list.

All of that to say, the Mets are far from a perfect team this year. While Juan Soto has stepped up after a sluggish start, they still have a lot of questions to answer. A sweep at the hands of the Rays, especially one where they allowed 24 runs in three games, highlights those issues.

The Mets look to erase their sweep when they hit the road for three games against the Braves this week. Meanwhile, eyes will be on the minors, where multiple key players continue to work their way back from injury.