PORT ST. LUCIE — Starling Marte is still here.
When the Mets signed right fielder Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract in December, Marte’s status seemed to be in question. The veteran right fielder was stellar for the Mets in 2022, the first year of his four-year pact, but groin and knee injuries significantly limited his production over the last two years. It’s not that the Mets were looking to replace him, but they wanted Soto and his bat in the lineup. And when they landed him, it meant some uncomfortable conversations with Marte.
Now, heading into the final year of his contract, he’ll play a different role for the Mets as a platoon DH and a reserve outfielder.
“They told me I’ll be DH’ing and sometimes I’ll step in for a player who is down,” Marte said Sunday through the team translator. “I just have to go out there and compete whenever my number is called to help out the team in any way possible. I’m going to give my best every single time, every opportunity.”
It’s not entirely clear if the two parties are happy with this arrangement or not, and it’s not entirely clear if the Mets tried to trade Marte, or how hard they tried to trade him.
Marte said the Mets told him they would try to facilitate a trade after they signed Soto, but later in the conversation, Marte said he was here because the Mets wanted him to be here.
“If they wanted to trade me, they would have traded me,” he said, again through the team translator. “Obviously, I’m here for a reason.”
When asked for clarification, Marte said, “They could have tried, but again, I’m still here.”
Over the winter, sources told the Daily News that the team wanted to keep Marte for various reasons. They wanted a right-handed bat to platoon with a left-handed DH, they think they can utilize his speed on the basepaths and they like the idea of having another Dominican around for Soto.
Of course, the thinking could have changed since then, but the one thing that has been made clear is that the Mets have questions about Marte’s ability to stay healthy. The team downplayed the issue with his knee last fall, but recently revealed that he was still rehabbing it over the winter. Marte said he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
Marte wants to play every day and doesn’t like sitting on the bench or getting into the lineup as a DH, but he’s planning to work out in center field and possibly in left field this spring to be able to play wherever he’s needed. The outfield is crowded with Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Jose Siri, Soto and Marte, but playing time often tends to work itself out and the Mets are already planning on using Marte in right field when Soto is in the lineup as a DH.
While Marte’s metrics rated him poorly defensively last season, the Mets think he was better than the numbers showed. Soto’s defense is considered “league average” according to president of baseball operations David Stearns, and they’re putting together a plan for him to work with outfield coach Antoan Richardson this spring. People who have worked with Soto or played with him describe him as a coachable, and at only 26, there isn’t any reason to believe he can’t improve, especially since he made strides last season with the Yankees.
“The jumps got better last year, he did a good job with his jumps. His routes, whether it’s a deeper route, might be something that is in there,” Mendoza said. “We haven’t had that conversation with him yet, but we have a plan in place. We also want to hear from him.”
Soto said he wants to win a Gold Glove after coming close last season. However, his poor defense left many questioning the selection process, especially since Francisco Lindor was not named one of the NL finalists at shortstop.
The Mets also think Soto can improve his baserunning, something Marte excels at.
It’s an interesting situation, but there doesn’t appear to be any resentment. Marte wants to win a championship and knows Soto can help the Mets do that. The Mets think Marte can still impact games in various ways.
It might not be ideal, but winning helps solve a lot of problems.
“At the end of the day, I’m here,” Marte said. “The most important thing for me is to do my best in whatever role that I’m in.”