The Mets are open to paying down part of Starling Marte’s contract to facilitate a trade, write Tim Britton and Will Sammon of the Athletic. There’s nothing to suggest a deal is imminent or guaranteed to happen at all, but the Mets could consider the veteran outfielder expandable.
After finalizing the Juan Soto signing, New York has an excellent outfield. Soto and Brandon Nimmo will play the corners. Tyrone Taylor had a nice first season in Queens and projects as the starter in center field. The Mets acquired defensive stalwart Jose Siri from the Rays last month. He’s a quality fourth outfielder who could cut into Taylor’s playing time up the middle.
The Mets don’t necessarily need to trade Marte. They’re willing to pay to stockpile depth under Steve Cohen’s ownership. Yet he’s probably fifth on their outfield depth chart and doesn’t have a great path to playing time. He’s no longer an option in center field at age 36. The Mets probably wouldn’t move Nimmo back to center field to force Marte into the lineup.
An outfield of Marte, Nimmo, and Soto would be limited defensively. The two-time All-Star would essentially be limited to a rotational corner role. He could pick up some at-bats at designated hitter, though the Mets are likely to add a first baseman and may want to leave DH playing time for some combination of Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and (if he’s not traded) Brett Baty. Marte doesn’t have the kind of power teams generally want from their primary DH regardless.
To find a taker, the Mets would need to eat a decent chunk of money. Marte is under contract for $19.5MM in the final season of a four-year free agent pact. If he were a free agent, he’d probably make a little less than half that. He’s coming off a league average .269/.327/.388 showing with seven homers through 370 plate appearances. Marte stole 16 bases in 17 attempts, though his defensive grades in right field have plummeted. His once elite speed is essentially average at this point. A bone bruise in his right knee cost him around seven weeks between June and August.
Marte is probably stretched as a regular, but there are teams that could give him more opportunity than the Mets can offer. Speculatively speaking, the Red Sox may be a fit as they search for a righty-hitting outfielder. The Guardians, Padres, Astros, Royals, Reds and Marte’s old team in Pittsburgh are other teams that could be in the market for corner outfield help.
