Migraines land Mets' Sterling Marte on injured list
Starling Marte #6 of the Mets strikes out during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on Sunday, July 16, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Well, someone’s going to have to play the outfield.
The Mets lost their rightfielder Thursday when they shipped Starling Marte to the 10-day injured list with migraines, and may lose their leftfielder after Tommy Pham re-aggravated the groin he tweaked before the All-Star break.
Pham, who never went on the IL for his previous injury, will undergo imaging, Buck Showalter said; the Mets will also be able to compare the results to the previous imaging he had when he originally hurt the area.
Pham was in visible discomfort after trying to leg out a double play in the third inning of the Mets' 6-2 loss to the White Sox Thursday. All of this is further complicated by the fact that Pham, who’s playing above his one-year, $6 million contract, stands to be one of the Mets’ most tantalizing trade chips, were they to sell at the Aug. 1 deadline.
“I don’t want to give up false hope,” Pham said when asked if he thought he would end up on the IL. “But I would say it’s not as bad as, what was it, two weeks ago? So, there’s reason to be optimistic.”
With one outfielder down and potentially another following, the Mets might have an avenue to promote Ronny Mauricio — the highly-touted shortstop who this year began taking reps in the outfield. Mauricio is slashing .295/.341/.844 with 14 homers in Triple-A Syracuse.
Marte’s IL move is retroactive to July 17, though Showalter noted Wednesday that Marte’s partner is scheduled to give birth around July 29, meaning that he may also have a paternity list stint in his future.
Marte was kept out of Saturday’s game against the Dodgers with a migraine, played Sunday, but was a late scratch Tuesday, when he came down with a second migraine about an hour before first pitch. He hadn’t played since, and was evaluated by a specialist Wednesday, receiving a brain scan.
Wednesday night, Showalter said that the results of the scan didn’t turn up any distressing findings and, up until Thursday morning, the Mets manager wouldn’t commit to an IL stint.
Marte’s symptoms, though, have been severe: consistent vomiting — to the point where “hugging a garbage can,” Showalter said, along with sensitivity to light and sound.
Marte, who’s having a down year offensively and coming off double-groin surgery in the offseason, has struggled with migraines in the past, but “not this close” together, Showalter said — something that concerned the team. He also suffered a near concussion early in the season.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
