Mets Call Up Mark Vientos With Starling Marte On IL
The slumping New York Mets will have to continue their NL East crown push without Starling Marte for the time being.
The baseball club announced that Marte had been placed on the 10-day IL as he recovers from a finger injury. With Marte on the IL, New York has called up Mark Vientos from the Syracuse Mets of Triple-A.
Losing Marte, even for a short period, is a bad break for a Mets team that is neck-and-neck with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves for the NL East. However, Marte has provided the Mets with a reliable bat and solid defense in the outfield.
The Mets are among the top World Series favorites at the major New York sportsbooks, including FanDuel (+500, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros) and DraftKings (also +500 and behind only the Dodgers and Astros).
Sports betting launched in The Empire State back in January, and the economy has been a giant success for the state. New customers can enjoy several special offers from these New York sportsbooks. This includes getting $200 from DraftKings when you bet $5 on college football or the NFL, $5 from WynnBET when you gamble $100 and $150 from FanDuel (win or lose) when you wager $5.
Marte joined the Mets in 2021 free agency on a four-year deal worth $78 million. The former Pittsburgh Pirates star is batting .292 with 16 homers, 63 RBI, 18 stolen bases and an OPS of .814. He also has a superb WAR (wins-above-replacement) of 3.7.
Vientos debuted for the Mets against the Miami Marlins on Sunday, going hitless in five at-bats. In 101 games with Syracuse, the 22-year-old Vientos is batting .280 with 24 home runs, 72 RBI and an OPS of .877.
2022 Mets Final Predictions: Division Champs & NL Runner Ups
So far, the Mets’ drastic offseason moves have paid significant dividends.
At this point, it looks like the worst case scenario would be the top wild card spot and a best-of-three series against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the San Diego Padres in the opening round of the playoffs.
If the Mets can hold off the Braves and finish ahead of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals (the latter is especially very likely at this phase), Showalter’s group will join the Los Angeles Dodgers in receiving a bye to the NLDS.
New York has an awfully friendly schedule to the rest of the way, as they have only six games remaining against teams with winning records: A three-game road series vs. the Milwaukee Brewers (Sept. 19 to 21) and a pivotal three-game set in Atlanta (Sept. 30 to Oct. 2).
With a friendly schedule and both Marte and superstar pitcher Max Scherzer hopefully returning for the final slate of games, New York should manage to hold on for their first division title since 2015.
If the Mets win their division, they’re likely to face the winner of the 3rd seed vs. 6th seed showdown. The Cardinals will most likely finish at the third seed and probably play either the Phillies or Padres in a best-of-three.
Regardless of the opponent, the Mets match up very well against all three of those teams. You won’t find a better pitching duo than Scherzer and Jacob deGrom for a best-of-five series, so the Mets are in excellent position to get a bye and win their NLCS matchup.
But the Dodgers, far and away the best team in the NL, have to be considered the favorites over anybody in the postseason. Even without Walker Buehler (out for the season with an elbow injury) and Clayton Kershaw currently injured, they boast baseball’s best pitching staff.
The Dodgers’ rotation is one of the few that can go toe-to-toe with the Mets’ super duo of deGrom and Scherzer. But Los Angeles also has baseball’s best offense, and they certainly have better depth from top to bottom than New York.
The late-season prediction here is that the Mets will win the NL East and defeat the Cardinals in four games in the NLDS. However, the thrilling season will end with a tough loss to the World Series favorite and powerhouse Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS.
Nonetheless, it will be looked back upon as a successful season for a Mets team that appears to be entering long-term championship contention.
