SEATTLE — Starling Marte is inching closer to a return from a knee injury. It couldn’t come at a better time.
Marte continued his rehab assignment Sunday in New Jersey with Double-A Binghamton, going 0-for-2 with a walk and playing seven innings in right field. He’ll play at least two more games next week with Double-A Binghamton. The Mets want him to play seven or more innings in the outfield on back-to-back days before activating him.
The club is monitoring him to see how his body responds from his rehab outings, but so far the veteran has gone through his rehab without any setbacks and has reported no knee pain.
With the offense struggling to produce runs and a few players needing days off, Marte’s return could provide an offensive spark while also allowing for more lineup flexibility.
“He’s a big part of this team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday at T-Mobile Park before the Mets played the final game of a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners. “He’s been out for a long time and guys, I feel like they’re stepping up, but he’s going to be a huge addition for us with the bat speed and everything.”
After missing much of the 2023 season with groin injuries, Marte was enjoying a solid bounce-back campaign before injuring his knee in June. You wouldn’t have known he was injured the way he was swinging the bat. Marte hit .351 with a .922 OPS with two doubles, two triples, a home run, 11 RBI and four stolen bases in four attempts in the 16 starts he made before going on the injured list.
The Mets still aren’t sure how the injury occurred. The team called it a bone bruise but Marte said his doctors believed it to be an overuse injury.
Whatever the cause may be, the Mets could use his offense and his baserunning. Known for his speed on the base paths, Marte expects to pick right back up where he left off. After the Mets were outscored 22-1 over the weekend by the Mariners, it’s clear they need any sort of spark they can find.
Without Marte, the Mets have primarily been using Tyrone Taylor and Jesse Winker in right field. Winker was traded by the Washington Nationals last month and could return to DH duties when Marte returns. Taylor has done well offensively and defensively and will continue to spell outfielders at all three spots.
But with other injuries, the depth is in danger of dropping. The Mets gave Harrison Bader a day off Sunday and used Brandon Nimmo in center field, Winker in left and Ben Gamel in right. Mark Vientos was scratched late with a left ankle injury.
Vientos first felt discomfort in his ankle before the team embarked on a 10-game road trip. It’s been fine throughout the last nine days, but he felt something again during batting practice Sunday, which forced the Mets to use Jose Iglesias at third base and Jeff McNeil at second.
It’s the time of year when just about everyone is dealing with some kind of nagging soreness and the Mets are doing their best to rotate players in and out to keep them fresh. Getting Marte back would help with that without a drop-off in production.
However, the Mets aren’t ready to look too far ahead to his return. The priority is making sure he gets through his rehab assignment without any setbacks, then the team will figure out how they want to use him.
“It usually plays itself out,” Mendoza said. “I’m just excited to get him back here and then there will be some tough decisions.”
TERRIFIC LEGACY
Late pitcher Tom Seaver‘s daughter, Sarah Seaver Zaske, and her family were in attendance at T-Mobile Park on Sunday. Seaver Zaske, who is based in Washington, brought her three sons and some of their friends to watch the team her father played for. The family chatted with Mendoza and former Mets pitcher David Cone on the field before the game.
Cone was in Seattle with ESPN as part of the broadcast team for Sunday Night Baseball.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Right-hander Dedniel Nuñez (pronator strain) threw a bullpen at Citi Field on Sunday. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) was set to pitch Friday night with Triple-A Syracuse, but because of storms in the northeast the game was postponed. The Mets hope to get Reid-Foley on the mound Tuesday with Triple-A Syracuse to pitch more than one inning.
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