What should the Mets do with Mark Vientos, Kodai Senga at the end of the season? Laura Albanese weighs in

This is it: The last gasp before a merciful end to this woeful Mets season. Beginning with Friday’s series opener against the Giants, there are only 22 more games left to wring whatever meaning they can out of a chaotic, frustrating 2026 campaign that had them out of contention before the All-Star break.

Here are four things to pay attention to over the next three weeks, and why they actually matter to this team’s future:

1. The Mark Vientos conundrum

Vientos made his return from a broken right hand Monday and promptly homered, but results like that have been the outlier for the embattled infielder, who increasingly looks like a non-tender candidate.

If you need further proof, note interim manager Andy Green’s somewhat stern challenge to Vientos just this last week.

“I was very forthright with him when he started the rehab assignment that [his playing time] would be dictated by how others perform and how he performs,” Green said. “I still think there’s a very bright future out there for him. If he wants to go grab a hold of it, that’s on him . . . He has all the talent that he possessed in 2024 when he was hitting close to 30 home runs and didn’t even start the season with the big-league club.

“It’s all right there. It’s on him for that to come out. We certainly want to see it come out. It’s not going to be a perfectly laid path for him when he does come back.”

It’s clear the organization is frustrated by Vientos’ regression, and who wouldn’t be? He has the talent to impact the ball, but hit .233 last year and was batting just .211 going into the series finale with the Rays Wednesday. Compare that with Jared Young, who’s had a breakout season amid Vientos’ struggles: Though he still is considered more of a platoon option at first base, Young went into Wednesday slashing .266/.327/.438 in 90 games, and leads the team with a .333 average with runners in scoring position.

Regardless, the Mets are likely to need a more sustainable solution at first base, but right now might be Vientos’ last chance to prove he has a place on this team next year.

2. Does Kodai Senga’s future truly lie in the bullpen?

The experiment has so far been successful, though there certainly have been a few stressful moments. Since making the inspired switch to high-leverage, late-game reliever, Senga has pitched to a 1.74 ERA, amassing five saves in 11 appearances spanning 10 1⁄3 innings. Devin Williams is still intent on pitching again this season despite his shoulder injury, and there’s certainly value to activating a player to allow him some peace of mind as he enters the offseason. But even so, Senga should retain the closer role, giving the Mets a larger data set to work from when they decided how to construct their bullpen next year.

3. Will the real Sean Manaea please stand up?

For a while there, it looked as if Manaea had figured things out — something that would have had big ramifications for next year’s rotation, and even how David Stearns decides to flesh out the rest of his starting pitching staff. Now, things are far murkier, and the big lefty only has a handful of chances to give Mets’ brass (and fans) a true idea of what they can expect.

Manaea allowed five runs and 11 hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 5 2⁄3 innings Tuesday in what was his fourth straight rough start. This comes after a stretch where he looked close to the best version of himself, holding a 2.16 ERA over four straight starts in late July and early August. The biggest concern is that Manaea generally looks pretty good early on, but is getting hit hard as the game progresses — usually around the fifth or sixth inning, or the third time through the order. He is once again in ‘figure it out’ mode; he’s managed to be successful in that arena in the past, and these last few starts may be a good test of if he can do it again.

4. Can you pencil Bo Bichette in for 2027?

Bichette has played things close to the vest, but it’s one of the more intriguing questions facing the Mets this offseason. After a rough start, Bichette looks like himself and will end this year having put up numbers close to his typical output. Going into Wednesday, he was slashing .262/.310/.390 and was second to Young in batting average with runners in scoring position. Bichette has a player option, but one that’s worth $42 million, and though it’s hard to see another team offering him that much, there are other factors at play: 1. Does a crummy first few months (and a disastrous season for the team) mean that Bichette wants out of New York, even if it comes with a pay cut? And 2. Does a lackluster free-agent class mean that he might get a higher payday than he otherwise would have?

While we’re unlikely to get clear answers in the coming weeks, you can still look for clues. Bichette has acclimated nicely, and found an easy rapport with the younger players on the team — teammates that certainly make this franchise’s future look a lot better than its present.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.