The New York Mets did not make the 2026 MLB playoffs, so their offseason has officially begun after Sunday’s season finale.
It was undoubtedly a disappointing season in Queens, and wholesale changes are likely coming from president of baseball operations David Stearns.
One massive decision that Stearns (and the rest of the Mets front office) will have to make regards infielder Mark Vientos.
More MLB on Heavy: New York Mets Linked to Former Cy Young Starter in MLB Free Agency
What Will the New York Mets Do With Mark Vientos?
Mark Vientos is a non-tender candidate in MLB this offseason.
MLB.com uses the following definition to characterize a non-tender candidate:
“Players on the 40-man roster under club control (i.e., players who haven’t reached the requisite six years of Major League service time to be eligible for free agency) who haven’t yet signed contracts for the upcoming season must be tendered contracts by a set deadline or they will be considered “non-tendered.” In many instances, a club will non-tender a player because it feels the raise he will receive in arbitration would be greater than his on-field value. In other cases, a club will non-tender a player simply to clear a spot on the 40-man roster — even if that player isn’t due much more than the league minimum the following season.”
This is the exact situation that the Mets face with Vientos. He will essentially either get a guaranteed contract, get traded, or be non-tendered by the Mets at some point this offseason.
Non-tendering a player can be looked at similarly to a designation for assignment.
Either way, Vientos could also be traded, but after a poor offensive season, his value is low, and if the Mets feel they’d rather not bring him back on a guaranteed deal because of the uncertainty of his offensive ability, they could cut ties with him via non-tender.
More MLB on Heavy: Los Angeles Dodgers Facing Massive Tarik Skubal Decision
Mark Vientos’ 2026 Season By the Numbers
In 2026, Mark Vientos played 87 games for the New York Mets.
Across 274 at-bats, he posted an average of .212 with 13 home runs, 11 doubles, and an OPS+ of 81 (19% below league average).
Vientos recorded a bWAR of -1.2 in 87 games, which isn’t great by any standards.
Over 400 total games in a Mets uniform, Vientos carries an average of .234 with 67 home runs, 198 RBI, and an OPS+ of 99.
You do have to maybe cut Vientos a little bit of slack with that Wins Above Replacement # because he played all over the infield and was thrust into playing first base for a brief period of time despite never playing there before. Vientos was the Mets’ guinea pig in some sense when other players were injured.
However, back to the offseason decision, no official decision will be made about Mark Vientos until the 2026 MLB season officially concludes, which will be at the end of October.
New York Mets Face Massive Mark Vientos Offseason Decision