Starling Marte’s transition to his new position hasn’t been as seamless as he and the Mets may need hoped.
Decreased to part-time standing for the primary time in his profession, Marte, who’s sharing DH duties with Jesse Winker, has an anemic .184/.273/.316 slash line in 44 plate appearances after going 1-for-4 in Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Cardinals.
After 12 seasons as a starter, the veteran outfielder is studying to take care of the decreased workload.
“It’s something I continue to work on every day,” Marte instructed The Submit by way of an interpreter. “No player loves being in this type of role, but at the same time, this is the way it has been presented to me, and I think, in order to have success at the plate, you have to go out there. You have to go and try to take advantage of whatever opportunity you can get.”
The Mets tried to commerce Marte final winter after Juan Soto arrived on a report 15-year contract price $765 million, however a deal by no means materialized.
It left the 36-year-old outfielder again with the Mets to complete out the ultimate yr of his contract — with $20 million owed to him this season — in a job share with Winker.
In every of the previous two seasons, Marte missed important stretches with accidents. His greatest season with the Mets was 2022, during which he produced an .814 OPS for a staff that received 101 video games.
Marte was requested if he nonetheless believed it’s attainable for that earlier model of himself to reemerge.
“I think everything is based on routine and the hard work that you put in,” Marte stated. “The success I had back earlier in my career was because I was playing every day. I think if I have more results and I am able to get into that lineup more, I will be able to get back to the player I once was.”
On Saturday, supervisor Carlos Mendoza recalled a dialog he had with Marte in spring coaching during which he instructed the outfielder the transition wouldn’t be straightforward.
Mendoza urged to Marte that he communicate with staff particular advisor Carlos Beltrán over the past homestand in regards to the challenges a participant faces going from full time to half time.
“[Beltrán] went through the same transition,” Mendoza stated. “When you get to that stage of your profession, you develop into sort of like a part-time participant. However these are crucial gamers on a championship staff. It’s not straightforward.
“[Marte] has been an elite player, everyday player, having success. Now, he’s having to go every two, every three days and come off the bench and face a pretty good reliever — that’s not an easy role. But he’ll be all right. He’s adjusting well. He gets it, and he’s going to be a big part of this team moving forward.”
Marte missed two months final season rehabbing a bone bruise in his proper knee. His reps in spring coaching have been restricted due to lingering knee points, however he says he now feels robust bodily.
The previous Gold Glove winner stated he’s nonetheless anticipating to obtain an occasional begin within the outfield.
The Mets’ early success has actually helped Marte type a optimistic view of the scenario.
“I think we have been playing a phenomenal brand of baseball,” he stated. “We go out there every day and we help each other out, we support each other when we’re in that dugout and preparing for games. The pitching staff has been tremendous. They go out there each and every day and compete. I think that’s what you want from a team that is going to compete to try to win a championship.”
