Buck Showalter, by his own account, had four different lineup cards on his desk Thursday morning as he tried to figure out the best crew to deploy following the Mets’ signature win of this season Wednesday night.
One version had Brett Baty in left field (and presumably Mark Vientos at third base), but Showalter stuck with his veterans, meaning Tommy Pham and Daniel Vogelbach, neither a fan favorite, got to play.
Showalter’s chosen lineup, which excluded Wednesday night heroes Vientos and Francisco Alvarez, hardly shined, but at least didn’t embarrass the manager. The Mets beat the Rays, 3-2, and got to celebrate their first winning series in a month. That it came against the team with MLB’s best record was a bonus.
Pham’s infield single in the sixth inning drove in Jeff McNeil with the go-ahead run. Pham also delivered a bloop double in the eighth inning. Vogelbach’s at-bats were largely noncompetitive in an 0-for-3 performance, leading to boos from the crowd at Citi Field.
The new reality is Showalter has decisions to make on a daily basis that aren’t as clear-cut as when Baty was promoted last month and given the starting third-base job over reeling Eduardo Escobar (who by the way has become a solid option off the bench). Adding to those options, the Mets decided Thursday night to promote Gary Sanchez from Triple-A Syracuse in a low-risk, potential high-upside move. The veteran catcher could have opted out of his contract on Friday if the Mets didn’t add him to the major league roster.
Vientos had started at third base Tuesday in his season debut and blasted a two-run homer as part of a wild game, which the Mets won 8-7 on Pete Alonso’s walk-off homer in the 10th inning, after they had fallen behind for the third time in the game. Alvarez’s dramatic three-run blast in the ninth had tied it.
Showalter’s decision Thursday to sit “dinged-up” catcher Alvarez in a matinee following a night game was understandable. More interesting was Vientos’ placement on the bench.
“We can’t play two guys at third base,” Showalter said. “We knew when [Vientos] came up that there’s not going to be room every day. We’ll see how it goes, it’s day-to-day.”
The manager didn’t relent when reminded he could have used Vientos as the DH.
“Vogelbach is a pretty good option, too,” Showalter said.
But it has been a rough stretch for Vogelbach, who owns a .644 OPS over his last 15 games. Most infuriating to Mets fans is the lack of power he brings to the DH spot. He has just two homers in 88 at-bats for a team that isn’t exactly overflowing with hitters who can smack the ball over the fence. That lack of heft helps explain the decision to take a chance on Sanchez, a former big-time power threat with the Yankees who is looking to revive his career.
Vientos essentially forced his way onto the Mets’ roster by crushing the ball at Triple-A Syracuse with 13 home runs. He only added to the perception he can be an answer for the team with his homer on Wednesday.
The real test on where Showalter stands might come this weekend, with the Guardians scheduled to start three right-handed pitchers. Finding at-bats for Vientos could prove interesting unless the manager is ready to bite into the veterans’ playing time.
Maybe that means playing Baty in left field (he played there late in the game Wednesday) and giving Vientos more chances at third base. Maybe Alonso can shift to DH more often and Vientos can receive chances at first base. Or Showalter simply could give Vientos a long look in the DH role. The idea of playing Baty in left field Thursday afternoon was nixed by Showalter over concerns of him handling the sun in unfamiliar territory.
Those will be tough decisions for a manager who has consistently shown loyalty to his veterans, whether Vogelbach, Pham, Mark Canha or Starling Marte. But recent history also shows that Showalter isn’t inflexible.
Just last month, Alvarez arrived from Syracuse and was initially splitting time behind the plate with Tomas Nido. In recent weeks, Alvarez had emerged as the starter, based largely on his strong play, although Sanchez now figures to receive some of that playing time.
Vientos understands the message.
“This game is about consistency,” Vientos said. “It’s not one day you bring the energy and another day you don’t. The only way this game rewards you is if you are consistent to your routine, consistent to the way you play, how hard you play and how hard you work.”
Results matter. That is truer now in the Mets’ lineup than it was earlier this week, when Showalter was facing fewer choices on a daily basis.
