Sal opened Wednesday's show preaching his continued belief in Steve Cohen amid reports from SNY's Andy Martino that the Mets will have a loose spending cap of $10 million the rest of the offseason.
But, once he got fixated on the reality that the spending cap means no DH upgrade this winter, Sal started to fume at the thought of Mark Vientos logging heavy DH time in 2024.
"[David] Stearns want to evaluate Vientos," Sal said. "Let me save you the time. He sucks. You don't need to evaluate Vientos. I know who he is. I've evaluated him. He ain't it. Go get a real DH.
"Is it too much to ask, even in a year when you're 'rebuilding,' to go get a real DH?"
J.D. Martinez, Justin Turner, and Jorge Soler are all there for the taking in free agency, but it doesn't look like the Mets will wind up with any of them. Instead, they will likely give a lot of DH at-bats to Vientos, the former second-round pick who hit just .211 with nine home runs in 218 at-bats last season.
The thought of that doesn't thrill Sal, to say the least.
"They're telling you the lineup is basically set, and they're gonna add bullpen arms…I thought there'd be more," Sal said.
"The Mets are the best case against the DH in the National League. If you're a purist and want the pitchers to hit, look at the New York Mets. They cant, for whatever reason, find an actual DH. I'm sick and tired of it. Daniel Vogelbach, Dom Smith, Darin Ruf, Robinson Cano. The DH should be the easiest thing to fill. And they're gonna give us Vientos this year. That's what drives me nuts."
