Starling Marte, making his second straight full appearance during his rehab assignment, was 0-for-3 with one sacrifice fly in nine innings for Triple-A Syracuse.
The outfielder, who is recovering from a bone bruise in his right knee, is expected to return to Citi Field on Saturday and potentially as soon as Sunday.
It will be interesting to see how the Mets use the 35-year-old, who was performing pretty well (.745 OPS) before the injury but was a burden in right field. J.D. Martinez is the Mets’ everyday DH, and lefty-hitting Jesse Winker was added at the trade deadline to hit for righty pitching.
While the right-handed hitter may be used more frequently against left-handed pitchers, manager Carlos Mendoza did not call him a platoon player.
“He’s a big part of this organization,” the manager said before the 7-3 win over the Marlins at Citi Field. “We’re going to need him, we’re going to need all the other guys, and I’m going to put together a mix and match.”
Dedniel Nunez faced batters for the first time since he was diagnosed with a right pronator injury following his July 23 appearance, and completed a 20-pitch batting practice session.
Mendoza said if Nunez’s recovery goes smoothly, he could begin a rehab assignment at Syracuse University as soon as Tuesday.
“I feel 100 percent healthy and I’m very excited,” Nunez said through translator Alan Suriel.
According to multiple reports, the Mets have fired several scouts in recent days, a fact Stearns would not confirm or deny.
“We have a very large scouting staff,” Stearns said, “and we’re going to continue to have a very large scouting staff.”
Stearns was asked about an ESPN report that MLB is considering a proposal that would require starting pitchers to pitch a minimum of six innings (with some loopholes regarding pitches and runs allowed).
“I’m in favor of continuing to discuss and ultimately implementing ways to increase the importance of starting pitchers in baseball and hopefully limit injuries to starting pitchers,” Stearns said. “I think we’re a long way from fully implementing something as drastic as the six-inning rule.”
Jeff McNeil’s two-run homer in the fourth inning was his 250th career extra-base hit, breaking the record held by Keith Hernandez and Todd Hundley for 17th in Mets history.
—Additional reporting by Bridget Riley
