Starling

Marte

Marte made his Grapefruit League debut after missing the first couple weeks of camp recovering from a right knee bone bruise. The 36-year-old veteran outfielder looked healthy motoring into second base on a second-inning double and told reporters afterwards that he’s feeling healthy heading into the regular season. The elite stolen base totals aren’t coming back at his advanced age, which limits his fantasy appeal to deeper mixed leagues as a late-round option.

It’ll be the first spring action of the season for Marte as he continues his recovery from knee soreness. The 36-year-old should get in the outfield in the coming days — although he’s not expected to spend as much time in the grass in 2025 — and is likely headed for a platoon role this summer.

Sherman adds that talks stalled when the Mets allegedly asked for Hunter Harvey or Angel Zerpa back, which the Royals were not willing to do. Considering that Kansas City went on to add Carlos Estevez to their bullpen, parting with Harvey for Marte doesn’t seem like a crazy price. The 36-year-old veteran isn’t the player he once was, but he has been successful when healthy and could add another solid outfielder to a team that has been playing Jonathan India and Michael Massey in the outfield this spring. It’s worth watching to see if these two teams re-engage in discussions since Marte will make his spring debut this week.

Mendoza wouldn’t commit to whether that would be a minor-league game or a Grapefruit League contest, but either way, it’s a positive development for the 36-year-old. Marte is expected to be a platoon player for the Mets to open the 2025 campaign, and his role won’t hold much fantasy value.

Presumably, those right field starts will come when Juan Soto is DHing. The Mets were hoping to trade Marte, but they apparently didn’t find anyone willing to take on much of his $19.5 million salary. Perhaps that still could change before the spring is out, and if it does, he might still offer mixed-league value elsewhere. That probably won’t be the case with the Mets.

Hernández might not have fit the roster as well as Pete Alonso, but he would have been a less expensive alternative to add another big bat to the order. Such an addition presumably would have left Brandon Nimmo playing a lot of center field, giving the Mets one of the game’s worst defensive outfields. As is, they currently have two lineup spots per game for Starling Marte and a pair of more legitimate center fielders in Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor. Marte would seem to be an obvious candidate to be traded if the Mets add another quality hitter.

The Mets broke the game open with a five-run third inning. Marte was in the middle of it as he hit a two-run double and scored on an RBI single by Francisco Alvarez. Marte is quietly hitting .310 for the Mets this postseason.

He’s reportedly out of the lineup today — the Mets have thus far held off on posting it because they’re waiting on Francisco Lindor to get through workouts — but he might be ready to go Monday.

Marte drove in two runs with a two-run triple that gave the Mets a 4-0 cushion in the third. The Phillies would score the next six runs. Still a nice day for Marte, who also drew a walk with the bases loaded in the first. Marte hasn’t been anything close to elite in 2024, but his 15 steals in 82 games help compensate for a so-so line of .271/.320/.399.

Marte continues to be given days of rest since being taken off the injured list, and he’ll have another maintenance day against Toronto on Tuesday. DJ Stewart gets the start in left while Marte sits.