Is Mets' Newest Playoff Hero The Red Sox's Biggest Recent Trade Deadline Regret?

Oh, what could have been...

Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets third base Mark Vientos (27) reacts after hitting a two run home run in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

As the Boston Red Sox are watching the postseason from their couches, they also have to imagine what could have been.

The best player for the New York Mets this October hasn't been Francisco Lindor, or Pete Alonso, or even Edwin Díaz. 24-year-old rookie third baseman Mark Vientos, who didn't even begin the year on the major-league roster, has been a breakout sensation for the surging Mets.

Vientos is 8-for-20 thus far in his Mets postseason career, and that includes a pair of home runs, both of which the young slugger hit in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. Vientos' second of his two two-run home runs, a game-tying blast in the top of the ninth inning, was particularly dramatic.

The Mets aren't letting Vientos go anywhere now, but he could have been a Red Sox. In fact, according to SNY's Andy Martino, the Red Sox and ex-Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom reportedly came close to landing him in a trade for ex-Boston catcher Christian Vázquez several years ago, and may have done so again at the 2022 trade deadline.

"I can tell you the Red Sox have expressed interest in Mark Vientos in the past," Martino said in July of 2022. "They already know him and like him. In fact, there was a Vientos for Vázquez trade that almost happened a few years ago, so they've been on him for a long time."

The whole paragraph stings, but the last part in particular is sure to make Red Sox fans wince. It seems Bloom always knew Vientos would be an impact big-league hitter, and perhaps even his predecessor, current Phillies president Dave Dombrowski, knew it too.

Vázquez eventually did get traded at the 2022 trade deadline, and the Red Sox did well to bring back right fielder Wilyer Abreu in the trade. But they also didn't deal designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who the Mets reportedly showed interested in that year as well. Two years later, Martinez ended up Vientos' teammate in New York anyway.

Vientos would have been the perfect piece for the 2024 Red Sox to have, and even more perfect moving forward. He's a right-handed hitter who hits lots of fly balls, and at Fenway Park, most of those fly balls turn into doubles and home runs. Sure, he plays the same position as Rafael Devers, but that just gives both the opportunity to get more designated hitter at-bats.

Now, there's simply nothing the Red Sox can do about it. Vientos is becoming a star, and he's all New York's. Boston just has to hope it can find its own righty bat who can approach the level of greatness Vientos is displaying.

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