The Mets welcomed a familiar face back into the clubhouse on Thursday, as Mark Vientos rejoined the team following a rehab assignment as he recovered from a hamstring strain.
And while the third baseman confirmed he won’t be activated until Friday against Pittsburgh, Vientos, who has been on the IL since June 3, said he’s glad just to be back around his teammates.
“It’s good to be back with the guys and seeing a bunch of faces that I missed and officially playing with the team pretty soon,” Vientos said. “It’s good to be back.”
In six rehab outings with Triple-A Syracuse, Vientos collected four hits, including a pair of doubles. And while building up strength in his hamstring and getting his swing timing back was the primary focus of his rehab, Vientos and the team also put a plan in place to try to ensure that the 25-year-old stays healthy for the remainder of the season.
“Obviously, the hamstring was the main thing, but there were a couple of little things that I needed to take care of with my body,” said Vientos, noting that the team helped him work on his hips, ankles, and shoulder, as well as his hamstring. “I talked to the trainers here, the strength coaches, and we put together a good routine for me to do on the daily, because the last thing I want is something like that to happen again, and my job is just to prevent that from happening.”
“Just focusing on doing my workload, sprinting, checking the boxes of running around, playing defense,” He added. “Obviously getting my swing, my timing back was a thing to. Felt good, got a couple of hits yesterday, had a couple of good at-bats, and ready to be back.”
Coming off a breakout, 27-home run year in 2024, Vientos got off to a rough start this season, slashing .230/.298/.380 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 53 games.
Vientos admitted that he was “humbled” by his tough start, but he knows that the long baseball season offers plenty of time to turn things around.
“I felt like I kind of got humbled a little bit,” he said, “and I appreciate that because I love this game so much and [things] like the first couple months of the season are the reason why I love it so much, because it keeps me on my toes, it keeps me wanting to work harder and harder and get better.”
The Mets certainly hope that their 7-3 win over the Braves on Wednesday night is a sign that the tide is starting to turn following a 1-10 stretch that some them drop out of first place.
And having Vientos back in the lineup should certainly help.
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