A major X-factor for the Mets this season will be Starling Marte and whether or not he can stay healthy for the duration of the year, something the 36-year-old hasn’t been able to do over the last two seasons in New York.
However, this season figures to be slightly different for Marte as the Mets plan on using him mostly as a designated hitter and in a platoon with Jesse Winker, rather than counting on him to be their starting right fielder like in the past.
The injuries to Marte have been aplenty since coming to Queens with last year’s problem stemming from a bone bruise in his right knee that cost him almost two months. In 2023, the outfielder missed almost half the season with a right groin strain as well as migraines.
So entering spring training this year, Marte worked hard to get his knee prepared for the season. It took him a bit to be ready to play in any Grapefruit League games, making his spring training debut on March 10, but on Friday afternoon he made his first start in the outfield.
“[My knees] feel really good,” he said through an interpreter. “Thank God we’ve been working really, really hard throughout this whole process to get back to where we want to be. They feel completely different from [how] they felt last year.”
That’s obviously a good sign for the Mets who would love to have the version of Marte they saw in 2022 who slashed .292/.347/.468 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI in 118 games. Since then, Marte has played just 180 games and has totaled 12 home runs and 68 RBI in two seasons.
But with Juan Soto now in the mix and playing right field, Marte just needs to focus on staying healthy and being productive at the plate, which he has been throughout his 13-year career as evidenced by his .286 batting average and .783 OPS.
Nevertheless, Marte hopes to still play the outfield whenever he can.
“I like playing in the outfield, I would like to get that opportunity to play the outfield,” he said. “Obviously, being the DH gives me more time for my knee to recover and it gives me more time to be off my feet.”
If Marte does play the outfield this season, it will likely be in left field where Brandon Nimmo — nursing his own injury — is the starter. It’s a position that Marte hasn’t played so far in New York (he played right field on Friday), but he has in the past and is willing to do whatever the team asks of him.
“Since being here I haven’t played left field. Obviously I used to play left field a long time ago and I did a good job, albeit a long time ago, but if that’s where they need me to play, I’m willing to play there. I do expect to get reps there at some point,” he said.
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic like his successor Soto, Marte also briefly spoke about what he’s seen from his friend and the newest Met in camp.
“It’s been really good, he’s obviously a great kid,” Marte said. “He’s someone who is always open to any type of topic that you’re going over there to talk to him about.
“I’ve noticed that he’s really taking a lot of the young players under his wing and when these young players can have someone like that talk to them… I think it can do a lot of good things. We’ve always had a pretty good relationship before he got here and now so I expect it to continue going that way.”
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