NEW YORK -- Before injuring his knee, Starling Marte had been one of the more productive members of New York’s lineup, starting nearly every day at DH.
Now that Marte is healthy again, the Mets hope he can reestablish a similar type of production.
The Mets on Tuesday activated Marte from the injured list, optioning Jared Young to Triple-A Syracuse. All told, Marte spent barely two weeks on the IL with the same injury -- a bone bruise in his right knee -- that cost him multiple months last year.
Although Marte remains an option in left field, the Mets will be “mindful” of using him there for extended stretches, manager Carlos Mendoza said. It was during a game in which he played the outfield that Marte began feeling discomfort in his knee. The 36-year-old also started eight times over a 14-day period leading up to his injury.
While on the IL, Marte received a gel shot in his knee, which alleviated his pain. He had received a similar injection in Spring Training.
"He was playing pretty much every day for a week there, and a lot of action,” Mendoza said. “He was getting results. He was running the bases. So maybe a little bit of that [contributed to his injury]. But after the shot, we feel like -- and he feels like -- he’s in a really good spot now.”
Marte figures to split time at DH mostly with Mark Vientos. The team’s other primary DH, Jesse Winker, is nursing a back injury and is not close to restarting baseball activities.
Prior to his injury, Marte was batting .270/.353/.387 with four home runs in 58 games. But he had been one of the Mets’ best hitters over the span of about a month, batting .349/.391/.460 since June 5.