Starling Marte made his spring debut on Wednesday afternoon — his first time taking the field in any capacity with the Mets since August.
After a season that was cut short to just 86 games due to issues stemming from groin surgery last winter along with neck and migraine problems.
The 34-year-old right fielder went 0-for-2 with a strikeout from the lead-off spot against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 3-0 victory, but more importantly, he got through the afternoon feeling good.
“Any time I’m able to play right field… I’m always having fun,” Marte said through team translator, Alain Suriel, after his outing (h/t SNY). “You’re going out there to play the game hard but I go out there to watch the fans, watch the kids to see how much fun they’re having and also to see what they pick up and learn from us as players. It’s always special to be out there.”
A clean spring will pave the way for Marte to be the Mets’ Opening Day right fielder and potentially resume his responsibilities as the team’s No. 2 hitter in their lineup — a spot he garnered All-Star accolades in two years ago.
*****
Pete Alonso opened the scoring on Wednesday with his first home run of spring against Cardinals starter JoJo Romero.
On an 0-1 count in the fourth inning, he took an 85-mph changeup toward the bottom of the zone and pulled it 372 feet over the left-field wall with an exit velocity of 100.9 mph.
But the most prolific slugger in baseball is taking a backseat to journeyman outfielder Trayce Thompson, who hit his second home run of the spring just one inning later off Kyle Leahy.
The 32-year-old, who is with his ninth team since 2015, took a 2-1 fastball 416 feet to dead center off the batter’s eye.
SPRING IS TRAYCE THOMPSON SZN pic.twitter.com/bmFPRo6vm5
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2024
It was part of a 2-for-2 performance on Wednesday that also featured a 103.7-mph double. In his only other appearance this spring on Monday against the Washington Nationals, Thompson — who is the brother of Golden State Warriors superstar Klay Thompson — hit a grand slam and notched an RBI single.
That makes him 4-for-5 this spring with two home runs and six RBI, which is a good first impression to make for a Mets club that has an open competition for outfield depth. Tyrone Taylor and DJ Stewart are also involved in backing up Marte and Brandon Nimmo.
Read More: Manhattan Booking: Suspect Dies, Investigation
