Starling Marte makes Mets debut in rightfield
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - MARCH 27: Starling Marte #6 of the New York Mets hits a double in the seventh inning of the Spring Training game against the New York Mets at Clover Park on March 27, 2022 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images/Eric Espada
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Remember that song lyric? “Put me in, Coach, I’m ready to play today. Look at me, I can be centerfield.”
After a bout with a sore oblique, Starling Marte told Buck Showalter he was ready to play on Sunday for the first time this spring training. Showalter put him in . . . but in rightfield, a position Marte had never played in the big leagues.
Marte’s Mets debut went swimmingly, as he went 1-for-2 with a double and made a pair of running catches at the new position.
But is that going to be his position when the season starts? Asked where he’d prefer to play when the season opens on April 7, Marte — who had been conducting an interview session in his native Spanish with the help of an interpreter — smiled and said in English, “In center.”
Showalter has been using Mark Canha in left and Brandon Nimmo in center for the most part. Nimmo also has expressed a desire to remain in center.
“We’ll see where we end up,” Showalter said. “But [rightfield] has the potential to be a good fit for [Marte’s] skill set . . . But they’ll be interchangeable.”
Showalter, always the thinker, put Marte in the ninth spot in the order in case he didn’t feel well enough to swing the bat after spending a few innings in the field. But it wasn’t an issue.
“Thankfully, I felt really good,” Marte said. “Nothing really bothered me. At the plate I felt good, and in the field I felt really good, thank God.”
Nimmo gets older, sits
Nimmo got a day off on his 29th birthday after jamming his left thumb on Saturday. He said he took live batting practice on Sunday and plans to be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
Also planning to return Tuesday: James McCann, who has been out with a sore back.
The Mets have their final spring training day without a game on Monday, but Showalter has scheduled a six-inning intrasquad game.
Jake hangs up bat
Jacob deGrom, who hit .364 last season, on the end of his hitting career after the National League adopted the DH for good: “I enjoyed hitting, but it seemed to start some of these injuries. So anything that can help keep me on the field, I guess, is a plus.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
