Mets Notebook: Mark Vientos begins baseball activities after fracturing hand

Mark Vientos is back in New York after spending the last month in Port St. Lucie with a fractured hand. The first baseman/third baseman took ground balls on the field Friday afternoon ahead of the Mets’ series-opening game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field, and he’s also been hitting as of late. There is no estimated timeline for a return, but the Mets said Vientos is “progressing.” “He spent a lot of time down there, and he’s got a great tan right now. Looks really good,” interim manager Andy Green said Friday. “Don’t have a game date for him when he’s going to start, but it’s good to see him bouncing around and taking ground balls and hitting. So he’s moving along.” Vientos has been out since July 10 after getting hit with a pitch on his right hand. It’s tough to know how to evaluate his season. Since breaking out in 2024 with 27 home runs, Vientos hasn’t been the same. With his ability to hit left-handed pitching, the Mets saw a role for him as a platoon DH. He started off strong over the first few weeks of play, and was quickly forced into playing first base, a position he hasn’t played regularly since the minor leagues, when Jorge Polanco and Jared Young were both injured early in the season. Things quickly went downhill. In his age-26 season, Vientos has hit just .211 with a .644 OPS, nine doubles and 11 home runs. He posted an OPS+ of 78, well below league-average (100), down from 96 last season and 134 in 2024. He had -9 Outs Above Average at first base before the injury. After back-to-back negative WAR seasons, Vientos could be a non-tender candidate in the offseason. It would benefit him if he’s able to return before the end of the season. Vientos appears to be the only one of the Mets’ injured players who is close to returning. Closer Devin Williams (right shoulder strain) and outfielder Juan Soto (left calf strain) are not doing any baseball activities. SOLIDIFYING SENGA’S STATUS With the Mets attempting to convert Kodai Senga into a high-leverage reliever, the challenge becomes finding the right spots to work him into games. There weren’t many high-leverage spots during the last road trip, and Senga isn’t pitching in back-to-back games just yet. That’s the next step for the right-hander, but it’s easier said than done. “I would expect him to get on the mound pretty consistently going forward because we need to see him take the ball on a consistent basis,” Green said. “So hopefully that’s in high-leverage innings. We’re not going to be able to perfectly script that though.” The Mets are not waiting for save situations, though they are down a closer at the moment. That could mean using him against certain spots in the order, even if that’s an earlier inning. The team has some ideas about when and how they’d like to deploy him, but he still needs more experience to see if he can handle this kind of work. “The game affords you that over time,” Green said. “We still have 45 days left of the season, or something like that. It will afford us the opportunity to get him some back-to-backs.” A ROSIE DOC SNY announced the premiere of a documentary honoring longtime play-by-play man Howie Rose this week, and did a screening with a Q&A at Citi Field on Friday. “Put it in the Books” will air Tuesday, August 18, and feature insight from former Mets greats like Mike Piazza and Pete Alonso, and from broadcasters Marv Albert, Mike Francesa, Gary Cohen and Ian Eagle. Rose, 72, is set to retire following the end of the season.