Ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, the Mets decided to bench Vientos (the second time in the last three games). The decision to leave him out of the lineup came after Bob Nightengale reported that the Chicago White Sox require Vientos to be involved in any trade for center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

The New York Mets have won five in a row after taking the first game of their series with the San Francisco Giants. They are also in a tight race at the top of the NL East division with their rivals,

The San Diego Padres need to add an outfielder ahead of the trade deadline, and they could look to add one of the better buy-low targets on the open market.

Currently half a game behind the NL East-leading New York Mets, manager Rob Thomson and his crew are eyeing their fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs, and if the season ended today, they’d Wild Card their way into September and (hopefully for their sake) beyond.

White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. is out of the starting lineup for the second straight day because of adductor soreness