2025 NL East Positional Rankings: Third Base
The NL East saw the emergence of a premier young slugger at third base last season in the Mets’ Mark Vientos. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Austin Riley suffered a fractured hand in August and missed the rest of the year. Now, he’s set to return and reclaim his spot as the best player in the division at the position.
Alec Bohm is looking for somewhat of an encore with the Philadelphia Phillies after putting together the most productive all-around campaign of his career thus far, though he’s got some work to do.
Here are the rankings for the top players at the hot corner in the NL East heading into the 2025 season.
No. 5: José Tena/Trey Lipscomb, WSH
It’s a competition at the hot corner in D.C.
José Tena was acquired by the Washington Nationals from the Cleveland Guardians at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas. At 23-years-old, Tena is another piece of the Nationals’ youth movement who boasts some upside. He was a bit underwhelming in 41 games for the club last year, however, with a .274/.305/.363 slash line, three home runs, 15 RBIs and five doubles. His defense also leaves much to be desired, as he committed nine errors at third.
Trey Lipscomb has the better glove amongst the pair, but hit just .200/.268/.232 over 211 plate appearances as a rookie in 2024. Tena, as of now, seems to be the favorite to win the job out of spring training.
No. 4: Connor Norby, MIA
Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Miami Marlins at last year’s deadline alongside Kyle Stowers for Trevor Rogers, Connor Norby played in 36 games for his new team last year. The 24-year-old hit seven home runs and drove in 17 runs during that stretch with a .247/.315/.445 slash line.
Norby is looking to break out for Miami as one of its top prospects. Should he properly develop and live up to that status, then the Marlins could have a long-term solution on their hands.
No. 3: Alec Bohm, PHI
As was the case for the Philadelphia Phillies as a team, it was a tale of two halves for Bohm.
In the first, he hit .295/.348/.482 with 11 home runs, 70 RBIs and a .830 OPS, leading to the first All-Star nod of his career. In the second half, however, his production fell to just four home runs and 27 RBIs with a slash line of .251/.299/.382. He was held to just one hit in the playoffs against the Mets as well.
Bohm was reportedly a topic of trade discussions for the Phillies over the offseason, but he enters spring training looking to rebound with much to prove.
Photo by Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
No. 2: Mark Vientos, NYM
Vientos had a long journey to get to this point in his career. Many doubted him heading into last season, and that feeling amplified after the Mets initially went with Brett Baty as their starting third baseman while also signing J.D. Martinez as their designated hitter.
Vientos had to wait for his opportunity, but he made the most of it. He was called up for three games in late April after Starling Marte was placed on the bereavement list, and he’d go on to hit a walk-off, two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, in May, Vientos was brought back up after Joey Wendle was designated for assignment and took over the third base job from there.
In total, Vientos logged 27 home runs and 71 RBIs in 111 games while slugging .516. He was also the Mets’ best postseason hitter, batting .327 with five homers. Now in year two as a starter and firmly entrenched at third after the Mets re-signed Pete Alonso, Vientos will have teams adjusting to him, and his own tweaks will be key to his 2025 season and overall development.
No. 1: Austin Riley, ATL
Coming off his hand injury, Riley will look to reestablish himself as the best third baseman in the division and perhaps all of baseball.
A great player with both the bat and the glove, the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger hopes to bounce back after hitting over 30 home runs in each of his last three full seasons. His return to the lineup, along with Ronald Acuña Jr., will add more of a jolt to the Braves as they look to take back the division from the Phillies.
OTHER NL EAST RANKINGS
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