J.D. Martinez's Mets debut likely won't be Sunday
J.D. Martinez at news conference during Mets spring training. Credit: Newsday/Tim Healey
Carlos Mendoza doesn’t know when J.D. Martinez will make his Mets debut. But he doesn’t think it will be the first day the veteran slugger is eligible, which is Sunday when the Mets play in Cincinnati.
“We're getting close to we’ve got to make a decision because he's getting close to joining one of our affiliates in the minor leagues,” Mendoza said on Thursday before the Mets split a doubleheader with the Tigers at Citi Field. “We’ve still got to talk to him and go from there. I don't anticipate Sunday.”
Martinez, 36, is working out at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida, after signing on March 23. The Mets can use his big bat, but unless he’s replacing an injured position player, even if he’s ready Martinez cannot come up until Sunday.
It doesn’t sound as if he is ready. Mendoza said the Mets are deciding which minor league team to assign Martinez to, with weather and strength of competition being two of the factors.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got to get him to join one of our affiliates,” Martinez said. “That could happen as soon as (Friday). Depending on how he's feeling and things like that.”
After Cincinnati, the Mets start a four-game series in Atlanta on Monday.
“We’ve got to take it day-by-day,” Mendoza said. “See how he’s responds after he starts playing real games in the minor leagues, and then we'll make that decision.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
