Updated Post – Jan. 4 at 9:05 AM
New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte made his 2024 winter league debut on Wednesday night with the Leones del Escogido. It was the first game action of any kind for Marte since August 5 of last year.
Marte went 1-for-3 with a single, ground out, and strikeout as the second place hitter. He also played five innings in right field before being taken out of the game following a lengthy rain delay.
Original Post – Jan. 3 at 5:55 PM
With the offseason and the beginning of spring training only a month away, the New York Mets are looking for bounce-back seasons from several players in 2024. For instance, the team will be looking for 2022 National League batting champion Jeff McNeil to rebound from a down season.
Another player the Mets are hoping for a return to form from is outfielder Starling Marte, who missed much of the season with injury, and was ineffective when he was in the lineup. Since September of 2022, Marte has been battling finger, leg, quad, and groin injuries. The veteran outfielder had groin surgery last offseason, and never looked 100 percent in 2023. Entering the third year of his contract in New York, Marte is preparing for what he hopes will be a return to his previous All-Star form.
Marte has been practicing in the Dominican Winter League for Leones del Escogido, and on Wednesday, he will make his season debut with the club, batting second and playing right field.
Wednesday’s contest will be Marte’s first baseball live-game action since August 5th of 2023 in Baltimore. There was speculation coming into the offseason that Marte might need another surgery, but that does not look the case, with the 35-year-old playing Winter Ball. Marte’s offseason activity will undoubtedly be of major interest for Mets fans and coaches, who are not only hoping to see him excel on the field and at the plate, but to remain healthy as spring training approaches. The Mets already lost Ronny Mauricio to a torn ACL last month during a Winter Ball game, and can’t afford another injury to a projected 2024 contributor.
There may not be another Mets player on this roster with more pressure to perform this upcoming season than Marte, as he was heavily scrutinized for his poor play. However, it was clear that injuries were a major factor in his lack of production. If he can display in Winter Ball the form that New York saw from him for most of 2022 and carry it over into 2024, it will make the Mets’ lineup much stronger and deeper.
