Minor League Mondays: Quiet Futures Game for Vientos, Alvarez

The All-Star Futures Game is now in the books and the spotlight for the New York Mets shifted a bit during the course of the day on Saturday. Catcher Francisco Alvarez and infielder Mark Vientos were the Mets’ representatives for the National League side and both were in the starting lineup. Neither made a tremendous impact in the game but their future has become a bit more intriguing, making them the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.

Alvarez went 0 for 1 with a walk as the starting DH while Vientos was 0 for 2 with a walk in a 6-4 NL loss. This is a bit of a disappointment for them, particularly after Alvarez put on a show during batting practice and was a year removed from homering in this very game. The headlines coming out of this game are now less about the potential impact that the pair can have on the Mets themselves but more in terms of whether New York should trade them for Juan Soto.

The Futures Game itself coming on the day that Washington decided to open itself up to trade offers for the 23-year-old superstar was certainly interesting timing. Any team interested in acquiring Soto will need to part with a bunch of highly-touted prospects to get Washington’s attention, making both Alvarez and Vientos potential trade chips if the Mets’ front office decides to seriously pursue Soto.

There will be some who question the fit of Alvarez in a deal for Washington since the Nationals just acquired a young catcher, Keibert Ruiz, from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Trea Turner/Max Scherzer deal last summer. Alvarez’s bat will play anywhere, however, and the fact that the Mets drafted a catcher with their first pick in last night’s draft will add fuel to the fire that Alvarez would be on the table for a Soto deal.

Time will tell what happens with the Soto situation, however, as this feels like it could become more of an offseason trade than one that can be completed in the two weeks prior to the deadline. The stock for Alvarez and Vientos certainly will never be higher, making how they perform for AAA Syracuse over the next few weeks very interesting.