Mets' Starling Marte optimistic he'll be ready after double groin surgery
Starling Marte of the Mets looks on prior to facing the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series at Citi Field on Oct. 08, 2022. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Starling Marte was surprised when he learned he needed surgery on both groins after last season, he revealed Sunday, and the rehabilitation from that operation has him behind schedule at the outset of spring training.
He anticipates being ready for the start of the season anyway, he said.
“I feel good, thank God,” Marte said through an interpreter on his first day at Mets camp. “First, we’re just going to make sure we’re strong enough and everything. We’re going to be in the weight room a lot to make sure we have the strength there. After that, we’re going to take the next steps.”
Manager Buck Showalter added: “He’ll probably be a little bit of a slow go initially.”
Marte managed groin/leg pain “for the better part of the season,” he said. But he was able to play through it so he did, deciding to address it fully after the season.
Tests revealed that there were “a couple of tendons” that were “a little separated,” requiring surgery, according to Marte. When doctors looked at the other groin, which hadn’t really been bothering him, they saw that “there was a potential of that also getting worse,” he said. The latter caught Marte off guard.
The dual surgery, which took place Nov. 1, rendered him barely ambulatory initially.
“We’ve been strengthening the muscles there and everything that we need to do,” he said. “When I got here, we evaluated everything, we did some tests and we decided it would take a little bit more time for us to actually get into game action.”
When the Mets announced his operation — which they noted would “repair a core muscle injury” — they said he would be “without restriction” in spring training. That isn’t true yet, but neither Marte nor team decision-makers have seemed concerned in a long-term way.
Marte has recent experience getting ready for a season quickly. Last spring training, which already had been cut short by the lockout, he was slowed by an oblique injury. He played in only a half-dozen Grapefruit League games in the last 10 days before the opener but was ready enough.
“It’s not really a surprise [that he is not at full strength],” Marte said regarding his current physical issue. “We’ve been in constant contact all offseason. I’ve flown up to New York. They evaluated me there. They evaluated me when I got here. It’s not necessarily a surprise now. We’re just trying to start a plan for this spring training to make sure that I’m ready.”
Marte’s previously fractured right middle finger, meanwhile, is fine now, he said. He missed nearly the final month of the regular season but returned for the Mets’ three-game playoff appearance.
How much pain was he in then?
“It was 100% [painful],” he said. “Not being able to play in September, it was disappointing that I wasn’t able to help the team out during that time. But thank God I was able to make it to the playoffs. We tried our best. Hopefully this year is better than last year.”
Overall, Marte’s first season with the Mets was a success. He hit .292 with an .814 OPS (and a 132 OPS+ that matched the best of his career). He was an All-Star for the first time since 2016, served as a steady presence in the No. 2 spot in the lineup and transitioned smoothly to rightfield, where his strong throwing arm was a difference-maker, in Showalter’s view, sometimes scaring opponents out of running.
One area in which Marte did not excel: base stealing. He swiped only 18 bags, the lowest in a full season in his career. He had 47 in about as many games the year before.
In 2023, with rule changes such as larger bases and limited pickoff attempts that are partially meant to incentivize steal attempts, Marte might go for it more often.
Healthier legs will help, too.
“If I’m healthy, most definitely. I’ve always been an aggressive player,” Marte said. “I’ve always been a player that likes to run a lot to get into scoring position so the batter can drive me in. So it really depends on health, but I can do that on the bases and also in the field.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
