Starling Marte, a veteran New York Mets outfielder, understood his job would be different this year, especially after the team attempted to trade him throughout the winter. It’s one thing to know that something is coming. Dealing with the reality is something else entirely. Marte has been a full-time starter since 2013, his first full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, injuries have hampered him over the last two years, and Juan Soto’s arrival this offseason logically put Marte up for a different position.
Marte, 36, is only batting. 184 with a.589 OPS in 44 plate appearances, although as a part-time designated hitter. The two-time All-Star is presently splitting DH reps with veteran slugger Jesse Winker.
“The success I had earlier in my career came from playing every day,” Marte told the New York Post. Marte played in 14 of the Mets’ first 21 games, but he did have two doubles and two RBI. “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,” Marte told me. Marte is in the final year of his four-year, $78 million contract. It’s unknown whether the Mets will try to move him before the deadline, but there may not be much interest in an aging slugger with a.667 OPS since the beginning of 2023.
“No player loves being in this type of role,” Marte told reporters, “but at the same time, this is the way it has been presented to me, and … in order to have success at the plate, you have to go out there.”
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