Carlos Mendoza discusses Mets’ plan with Mark Vientos set to return from IL

The Mets will receive a big boost heading into this weekend’s series against the Pirates, as Mark Vientos is officially set to make his return from the IL. 

Vientos has been sidelined since the beginning of the month with a hamstring strain. 

The youngster had gotten off to a bit of a slow start at the plate this season, but there’s no denying that adding him back into the middle of this struggling lineup could provide a huge boost. 

"Mark is a big part of our team," Carlos Mendoza said. "We saw it in the playoffs last year he drives the ball to all fields, gives you good at-bats, and the power is real -- if we get him going we’re talking about a deep lineup 1 through 9. He’s a guy who can hit anywhere in the lineup, so it just adds to the quality of our roster."

Vientos’ return also puts the Mets in a bit of a conundrum, as their infield depth suddenly gets a whole lot more crowded and they’ll have to open up another roster spot prior to the 25-year-old’s activation. 

While it’s a tough decision to make, Mendoza says it’s not necessarily a bad thing. 

"This continues to be a puzzle," he explained. "There are going to be a few spots that are going to be rotating and I think that’s a good problem to have -- I’ve been saying since day one talking about the depth how good our team is because of the quality and quantity we have. 

"So there will be at-bats for everyone in there who is on the active roster, and we’ll make sure that we are communicating with them on a daily basis and they understand that we’re here to win baseball games."

Ronny Mauricio has been viewed as one of the candidates to go back down -- though the skipper did say there's a possibility we could see him stick around even with Vientos and Brett Baty on the roster. 

Mauricio was brought back up to the big leagues earlier than the team had hoped following Vientos’ injury, and while he’s looked a bit overmatched at times, he’s coming off one of his best showings to this point. 

The youngster picked up three hits including a solo homer on Wednesday night.

"I’ve been impressed with how he’s handled the adversity," Mendoza said. "I haven’t been around him much because he spent all of last year rehabbing and this year in spring training he wasn’t really around much just being in the training room and the backfields. 

"Watching him after missing so much time and struggling, he’s being the same guy, continues to work and asks for feedback for help -- it was finally good to see a really good game from him last night, we hope to see that same version moving forward."