QUEENS — New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte likely will not be ready to return to action by the time he is eligible to come off the injured list on Wednesday.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” manager Buck Showalter said on Sunday afternoon before his team’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves.
The 34-year-old was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 6 due to recurring groin issues stemming from surgery undergone during the offseason. He received an injection in his right groin two days later and has been cleared for light activity since then.
“He’s progressing little by little,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s pretty sore from the injections.”
After consulting the doctor that performed the surgery over the winter in Philadelphia, part of the injection process includes “pushing right up against it,” as Showalter described, “to make sure they’re not getting any setbacks with what was causing the problem.”
In the meantime, the Mets have begun discussions about potentially assigning Marte to the minors for rehab games. That way he can slowly continue his build-up toward a return to the majors.
“It’s not just a blind ‘go play games,'” Showalter said. ‘There’s a lot more to it than that. You have to cross some bridges to get there.”
There certainly is no rush to get Marte back into the fold any time soon. At this juncture of the season, the Mets are playing for pride more than anything as they are clearly out of the National League playoff picture — the latest beatdown coming at the hands of the Atlanta Braves on Friday and Saturday.
It is imperative, however, that the veteran right fielder gets back to the 2022 version of himself whether that comes in the final months of this season or in 2024. A stellar No. 2 option and anchor at the top of the Mets’ lineup in his debut season with the club last year, Marte went from an All-Star to a non-factor this season, slashing .248/.301/.324 (.625 OPS) with five home runs and 28 RBI in 2023.
All the while, he has dealt with migraine issues that landed him on the IL last month and a neck injury suffered in April that lingered throughout the early portions of the season.
For more on Starling Marte and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
