With J.D. Martinez's debut delayed once more, what does it mean for Mets DH situation?
ATLANTA — As the Mets approach their third week of the 2024 season, they will still be without their ideal designated hitter.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that J.D. Martinez received a cortisone shot for lower back tightness on Tuesday and would be shut down from swinging for three to five days.
The Mets manager said that he does not believe the tightness to be too concerning as it is something that the 36-year-old designated hitter dealt with in early in the 2023 season before an injection enabled him to play 113 games."It’s one of those where I talked to him yesterday, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I could be there with you guys right now, but I don't want to be dealing with this throughout the year, so why don't we just get ahead of things,'" Mendoza said. "We got the doctors to take a look at him and we decided to go that route."
J.D. Martinez's history with his back and quick ramp-up
When the tightness surfaced in 2023 as a member of the Dodgers, Martinez missed 15 games before reemerging in the lineup. Once Martinez returns to swinging the bat, he will still need to work back through live batting practice and a minor-league assignment before joining the Mets.
"The way he described it was last year when he got it he was swinging the bat within six days," Mendoza said. "So we'll see how the next 48 to 72 hours, (how) he responds to the treatment and then we'll go from there. But as far as at-bats and things like that, he feels really good timing wise, mechanics, so again, I'm not too concerned about this."
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Mendoza said that Martinez has gotten roughly 80 at-bats in workouts and Single-A games in Florida since joining the Mets on a one-year, $12 million contract on March 30.
Martinez debuted for Single-A St. Lucie on April 5, playing back-to-back games and going 1-for-8 with a run and two walks before getting two days with "body soreness." But now, the reality of seeing Martinez before a six-game Californian road trip beginning on April 19 seem remote.
Who's filling in at DH for the Mets?
Since the beginning of the season, the lefty-hitting DJ Stewart has seen the majority of the time at designated hitter. He received his sixth start of the season on Tuesday night after knocking a go-ahead two-run home run for his first hit of the season in Monday night's 8-7 victory over the Braves.
Entering Tuesday night, Stewart was 1-for-14 with five walks and six strikeouts.
Mendoza had chosen to use the position as a way to get some of the position players off their feet, with Starling Marte and Brandon Nimmo each drawing two starts at DH and Francisco Alvarez getting one start.
Entering Monday, the Mets' 1.061 OPS from the designated hitter position was the third-best in Major League Baseball. That figure was largely aided by an MLB-leading 13 walks by the position.
They would assuredly like to see the production from Martinez sooner rather than later. Last season, Martinez slashed .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs, 103 RBI and 27 doubles.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: J.D. Martinez debut delayed due to back injury
