Starling Marte is again within the combine for the Mets.
The Mets activated the designated hitter/outfielder on Tuesday after a two-week stint on the injured checklist as a result of a bruised proper knee.
“We’re a better team when he’s healthy,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza stated earlier than Tuesday’s recreation towards the Los Angeles Angels at Citi Discipline.
Marte, 36, entered Tuesday with a .270 common, 4 dwelling runs, 20 RBI, a .740 OPS and 5 stolen bases in 58 video games.
He landed on the injured checklist after a July 6 loss to the Yankees, throughout which Marte’s knee flared up within the ninth inning. Marte missed almost two months final season with a bone bruise in that very same knee.
Marte acquired a gel shot within the knee towards the start of his IL stint.
“After the shot, we feel like — and he feels like — he’s in a really good spot,” Mendoza stated.
The righty-swinging Marte was not within the Mets’ beginning lineup on Tuesday with right-hander Kyle Hendricks pitching for the Angels.
Mendoza stated he expects to make use of Marte in a “pretty similar” function to the one the veteran performed earlier than he was injured.
“DH, pinch-hit, and we’ll have to build him up defensively,” Mendoza stated. “I wouldn’t hesitate to put him [in the outfield]. You’ve just got to be mindful of whether we want him to play a full game or not.”
Getting into Tuesday, Marte had made solely 5 appearances within the outfield, together with a begin in left discipline within the recreation that he bought harm.
Requested if he thought Marte’s defensive utilization contributed to his damage, Mendoza stated, “Not so much playing the outfield, but he was playing pretty much every day for a week there.”
“It was a lot of action,” Mendoza stated. “He was getting results. He was running the bases. So maybe a little bit of that.”
Marte missed 11 video games and didn’t require a rehab task.
His return offers a lift to a Mets roster that is still with out lefty-swinging designated hitter Jesse Winker, who’s on the IL with again irritation.
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Marte’s activation got here amid a flurry of roster strikes by the Mets, who additionally positioned left-handed longman Brandon Waddell on the 15-day injured checklist with a proper hip impingement.
Waddell suffered the damage when he slipped on the mound throughout a 3.2-inning outing on Friday towards the Cincinnati Reds.
The Mets initially optioned Waddell to Triple-A Syracuse earlier than reversing his task because of the damage.
“We made the transaction, but then it continued to get worse,” Mendoza stated. “We brought him back. Doctors checked him out. Inflammation there, and he’s on the IL now unfortunately.”
Waddell has a 4.00 ERA over 10 appearances, together with one begin.
The Mets on Tuesday additionally designated right-handed reliever Chris Devenski for task. Devenski, 34, had a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings over 4 separate stints with the Mets this yr.
The roster shuffling additionally concerned optioning infielder Jared Younger and reliever Kevin Hergnet to Triple-A Syracuse, recalling right-hander Justin Garza, and activating righty Rico Garcia, whom they claimed off of waivers from the Yankees.
That is the second stint in Queens this month for Garcia, whom the Yankees had claimed off of waivers from the Mets throughout the All-Star break.
Initially Revealed: July 22, 2025 at 6:23 PM EDT
