Mets have a Starling Marte conundrum that must be addressed
It's been a rough, shocking descent for Mets outfielder Starling Marte.
One of the engines who helped the 101-win Mets go in 2022, slashing .292/.347/.468 with 24 doubles, five triples, 16 homers, and 18 stolen bases in 118 games, Marte was so instrumental in their success that it's easy to link their September swoon to his absence -- which began on the night of Sept. 6 when he was drilled by a pitch on his right hand by Mitch Keller in Pittsburgh.
Marte wound up missing the rest of the regular season, the Mets tumbled from first place and into the top Wild Card spot, and were toppled by the Padres in three games in the Wild Card series -- when Marte returned but wasn't anywhere near full strength.
If the 2022 Mets didn't lose Marte to injury, they almost certainly would've mustered the one extra win they needed to hold off the Braves for the NL East title. And if they held on and had the bye to the NLDS, perhaps the postseason goes very differently, ending with a parade down the Canyon of Heroes instead of ending with a whimper at Citi Field.
But the Mets did lose Marte last year, and -- due mostly to double groin surgery he had last November -- he really hasn't returned.
There has been tons of emphasis on what the loss of Edwin Diaz for the entire season did to the Mets, and rightfully so.
The injury to Justin Verlander early in the season also helped to do them in.
However, Marte's painful regression and injury woes might have been the death knell for the 2023 Mets.
Gone was the dynamic All-Star who was one of the most important pieces on one of the best teams in baseball, receiving down-ballot MVP votes for his efforts.
In the place of that player in 2023 was a version of Marte who was a shell of himself, as he hit a paltry .248/.301/.324 with just five homers and seven doubles in 341 plate appearances over 86 games.
That version of Marte was unable to generate much of anything at the plate and couldn't give anything close to full effort in the outfield, often looking so uncomfortable in right field that it appeared he was learning a new position.
And Marte looked like that not because of diminishing skills or a lack of effort, but because of lingering effects from the double groin surgery.
Marte played through the pain until the first half of the season ended, was then absent, except for a two-game cameo from August 4-5, when he went a combined 0-for-8 with three strikeouts.
After that, Marte was rehabbing the groin issue that he might need another surgery for. He was hopeful of returning for the final week of games. However, he he was shut down on Sept. 27, with manager Buck Showalter saying there just wasn't enough time to get him ramped up.
But here's the thing for the Mets: whether Marte has another surgery or not, the team has to go into the 2024 season viewing him as a non-entity.
If Marte has the surgery, it will be impossible to know when he'll be back to anything close to 100 percent.
If Marte doesn't have the surgery, it will be impossible to know whether the same issues that plagued him in 2023 will plague him again in 2024.
The situation is of course complicated by the fact that Marte is under contract through the 2025 season, set to earn a shade under $21 million in both 2024 and 2025.
Fortunately for the Mets -- and despite their incredibly disappointing 2023 season -- they appear well set at lots of spots on the diamond and have impact prospects on the way, meaning that finding an immediate replacement for Marte will be one of the few things they have to do as it pertains to the regular lineup.
Barring something strange happening, they should enter the 2024 season with Francisco Alvarez (catcher), Pete Alonso (first base), Jeff McNeil (infield or outfield), Francisco Lindor (shortstop), and Brandon Nimmo (center field) as regulars.
Additionally, Ronny Mauricio has shown that he should be a factor entering next season, either on the infield or in left field (if the Mets are comfortable with his progress there).
That means that -- offensively at least -- the Mets' top tasks this offseason should be deciding who plays third base, finding a legitimate DH, and adding a starting-caliber outfielder. Those decisions should be colored by just how close they think Drew Gilbert and Luisangel Acuna are to the majors. But a replacement for Marte -- ideally on a one-year deal -- is necessary.
Some pending free agents who could make sense include Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, and old friend Tommy Pham -- all coming off one-year deals.
Duvall and Pham are almost certainly not candidates to receive a qualifying offer, and Pederson is ineligible for one since he played under the QO with the Giants this season.
In the event Marte rebounds to be even close to the player he was in 2022, the Mets will have an embarrassment of riches. But they have to prepare for the likelihood that he won't.
