Starling Marte’s impending return raises questions for Carlos Mendoza and the Mets.
A question about the role of the outfielder.
The question is how the Mets will handle a very crowded outfield.
The question is how they plan to evaluate their offense and defense as September approaches.
One thing is certain: Marte, who is expected to return for Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins after playing full minutes with Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday and Friday, is scheduled to play.
“He’s a big part of this team. His bat, his speed, all of that is great. Great lineup presence and obviously experience,” Mendoza said Saturday before the Mets shut out the Marlins 4-0 at Citi Field. “He’s been in this league for a long time and had a great career, so we’ve missed him. The fact that we have a healthy Marte here, especially with the schedule, is going to mean a lot to our team.”
Mendoza said the Mets have a plan for how they will use Marte but didn’t want to reveal it until they spoke with Marte (who didn’t arrive until midway through the win).
The team also plans to gradually bring Marte back into the lineup after a seven-week break, and Mendoza said there’s a “good chance” Marte will play Sunday.
The 35-year-old Marte was having a solid season offensively before being placed on the disabled list on June 25 with a bone bruise in his right knee.
He batted .278/.328/.416 with a .745 OPS in 245 at-bats, and also stole 12 bases in as many attempts.
But his defense was shaky, with the veteran being minus-9 in outs above average.
At least against right-handed pitching, the Mets will likely have to move Brandon Nimmo to center field — he’s played mostly left field this year — and surround him with Jesse Winker and Marte, neither of whom are great defenders.
Harrison Bader, by far the Mets’ best outfielder, will likely only play against left-handed pitchers or as a defensive replacement late in games.
The Mets also could see a reduction in playing time for either Jeff McNeil or Jose Iglesias, as there will no longer be room for McNeil in a corner outfield position where he has been used against left-handed pitching.
Some of those players will have to make sacrifices.
“We’ll have those conversations with some of our guys,” Mendoza said, “but at the end of the day, they’re going to get at-bats, they’re going to get playing time. It’s going to be a rotation, I’m confident of that.”
