Veteran right fielder Starling Marte is expected to make his spring training debut on Wednesday when the Mets take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Port St. Lucie, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.
“He’s pretty close,” Mendoza said (h/t SNY). “I think tomorrow you’ll see him.”
The 35-year-old’s 2023 season was derailed by complications following double groin surgery last offseason where the build-up of scar tissue provided discomfort that proved too much to work through.
Paired with a neck injury alongside migraine issues that hampered him throughout the summer, Marte was limited to just 86 games last season. His absence as a steadying No. 2 hitter within the Mets’ lineup was glaring. This was a player who earned All-Star accolades by batting .292 with an .814 OPS with 16 home runs and 63 RBI for a 101-win team in 2022.
Last year, he batted just .248 with a .625 OPS — clearly impacted by the litany of health issues.
All appears to be in good order for Marte as spring training ramps up. He spent time in the offseason playing Dominican Winter League ball and said last week that he feels “great” and can “play 170 games,” in 2024.
“I know I’m good,” he added.
Mendoza, who said that Marte has been doing “a lot of back-field activities,” like “facing live pitching” and “sprinting, does not need to see anything extraordinary to confirm that the right fielder is going to be a key piece of the Mets in 2024, either.
“This is a guy that’s been a special player in this league for a long time,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s just the health part. We saw the great Marte in 2022. Obviously, last year he dealt with a lot. Going back to the offseason where we went to the Dominican to watch him play, the early reports from the hitting coaches are how well the ball is coming off his bat. That’s important.”
