5 things to watch as the Mets and Cubs play four games at Citi Field

Here are five things to watch out for while Mets and Chicago Cubs play a three-game series at Citi Field starting Monday…

Vientos performed very well late last season when he had a legitimate chance to play – especially in terms of power – and had a clear path to the DH job for the 2024 season until the Mets signed JD Martinez.

Call of minors with Mars Starling Vientos entered the mourning list on Sunday night. He scored in his first at-bat and then hit a two-run homer to center field in the 11th inning.

After the game, Carlos Mendoza said Vientos will be in the lineup for the series opener against the Cubs. But what happens after Monday?

Marte is expected to return on or soon after Tuesday, and the Mets will have to make a change to the 26-man roster to free up space.

They could simply send Vientos back to Triple-A, but it could be argued that sending him down doesn’t make much sense. However, to keep Vientos on the roster, the Mets would likely have to cut ties with Joey Wendle (the only reserve middle infielder in the 26-man squad, so that’s not going to happen) or relegate Brett Baty.

About Baty…

Brett Baty is struggling at the plate

After a strong start to the season, Baty – who was out of the lineup for a while due to a hamstring problem – regressed.

His batting average (.256) and OBP (.322) are relatively good, but he is batting just .317.

Baty is hitting .120/.214/.160 in his last nine games and has just three extra-base hits all season (one home run and two doubles).

Meanwhile, a look at his Baseball Savant page shows a number of troubling trends.

Baty’s xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel percentage, hard hit rate, and chase rate are all near the bottom of the league.

And his propensity for hitting low balls continued, with him hammering the ball into the ground 55.2% of the time – about five percent worse than his low ball rate was in 2023.

Severino was literally perfect through the first four innings during his last start in San Francisco, but folded a bit in the fifth — due in large part to some soft contact on the grass.

But Severino – as he has done in every match this season since the first – looked very good.

In 27.0 innings across five starts, Severino has a 2.67 ERA (3.33 FIP) and 1.25 WHIP. He has allowed just two home runs, pitched at least five innings in every game and pitched six innings in each of his last two games.

Severino gets the ball in the series opener on Monday.

Imanaga has been somewhat in the shadows this off-season, with most of the free agent attention focused on his fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamotobut it is Imanaga who starts best.

In fact, he has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season.

In 27.2 innings over five starts, Imanaga has a 0.98 ERA (2.42 FIP) and a 0.79 WHIP.

He struck out 9.1 batters in nine and walked a minuscule 1.00 batters in nine.

Imanaga is ready to face José Butto on Wednesday night.

Challenging early season schedule continues

The Cubs have lost two in a row, but enter this series with a 17-11 record – a half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central.

And Chicago is just the Mets’ latest opponent in an early-season schedule that has seen them face mostly teams that should be in contention for playoff spots.

The Mets have yet to beat the 6-23 Miami Marlins, the 7-21 Colorado Rockies, or any of the teams in the American League basement (6-22 Chicago White Sox, 9-19 Houston Astros, 10-18 Los Angeles Angels and 12-17 Oakland Athletics).

New York also hasn’t faced the Washington Nationals, who are 13-14 years old but aren’t expected to have staying power.

In addition to a three-game series against the Marlins in mid-May, the Mets face stiff competition next month, with upcoming series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Guardians, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles . Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.