Buck Showalter expects Starling Marte to be back playing soon for Mets
The Mets' Starling Marte follows through on a swing against the Orioles in the second inning of a game Saturday in Baltimore. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Starling Marte will likely get a chance to salvage what he can from what’s been an otherwise lost season.
Marte, who hit the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain Monday, received positive news Tuesday after consulting with the Philadelphia-based doctor who performed his double-groin surgery in the offseason, Mets manager Buck Showalter said.
Marte had an injection in his groin Tuesday and is cleared to resume light activity, the team reported. There’ll be a further update in a few days.
Marte was just three days removed from being reinstated from the IL because of migraines that cost him chunks of July and early August when he landed there again.
“No surgery needed but we identified the issue he’s had, and they attacked it today,” Showalter said.
There’s some hope that a healthier Marte can eventually reclaim a glimmer of the 2022 All Star — pivotal to the Mets since he’s signed through 2025. He’s hitting .248/.301/.324 this year — career lows in everything but on-base percentage — and saw his sprint speed drop to the 46th percentile in baseball this year after being in the 83rd percentile in 2021.
“I think you’ll see him play again this year,” Showalter said, later adding that he even hoped that Marte would be reinstated as soon as his 10 days were up. “It’ll be good to see him finish up strong knowing what the issue’s been…I think it’ll be good. I expect Starling to be back and playing.”
Until then, though, the Mets outfield situation remains murky — and it’s becoming increasingly clear that they still don’t feel Ronny Mauricio is ready for the call-up fans have been clamoring for all season. Tuesday, they lost starting right fielder DJ Stewart a few hours before the game, when he injured his wrist swinging in the batting cages (Showalter did not believe it to be an IL issue, and was even hopeful Stewart could come off the bench).
Meanwhile, instead of bringing up Mauricio, the Mets opted to tag 34-year-old veteran journeyman Abraham Almonte — calling him up Monday along with infielder Jonathan Arauz, who’ll take recently-optioned Brett Baty’s spot on the roster.
Mauricio, who hit .367 in May, has cooled down significantly since his scorching hot start — hitting .248 in July and August, and 3-for-18 in his last four games.
“There are still some things we want to see, both on the offensive side and defensive side with him,” general manager Billy Eppler said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Show: A NY Post baseball podcast with Joel Sherman & Jon Heyman.”
“I don’t want to put somebody in a position with all the lights, all the focus and everything on them unless they’re banging the door down … He’s a young, talented thoroughbred, but we also want to be mindful of the state here and the gravity and the responsibility that comes with that, and remain open-minded to adding him in the future. But (we) still need to see more of the objectives, or more of those boxes checked before we go down that path.”
Almonte was a late add to the lineup Tuesday, taking Stewart’s spot in right and batting sixth. The switch-hitter batted .257 in 15 games with the Red Sox last year, and slashed .228/.331/.564 with 11 home runs and 26 RBIs in 27 games with Triple-A Syracuse.
“He’s had a lot of experience in the big leagues,” Showalter said of Almonte, who’s now on his eighth major-league team “Of our options down there he was the best option. Everybody liked him as a lefthanded hitter. I’m anxious to see him swing the bat … I’m anxious to see how he moves around the outfield. He’s been around. He’s 34 years old. He’s always been a guy who has options to play. People want him in this role, us being no different. I think he’s got a chance to give us some juice with the bat.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
