There likely will be no JD Martinez or Jorge Soler. Instead, the New York Mets will once again be sticking with internal options in hopes of getting something out of the designated hitter spot of their lineup in 2024.
The Daniel Vogelbach experiment failed miserably last season. In fact, Mets DHs ranked 21st in all of baseball with a combined .715 OPS along with the third-worst BABIP in the league (.256).
Vogelbach is out of the picture and rather than finding a proven, external option to lengthen the Mets’ lineup behind Pete Alonso, president of baseball operations David Stearns is staying true to his word and not gratuitously spending on a team that won’t have legitimate World Series aspirations until 2025. That’s what the belief is, for now.
As it stands, the Mets have three designated hitter options that could be relied upon this season. Here is how the situation currently looks:
Mark Vientos
It looks like Vientos is going to get the first crack at securing the DH role and making it his very own in 2024 and beyond. Brett Baty is projected to get the starting third-base job and Vientos should get reps alongside Joey Wendle backing him up if needed. Yet this is a golden opportunity for the 24-year-old to prove that he can stick it in the majors.
Vientos’ first two years in the majors have been a struggle. In a combined 254 at-bats between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he owns a .205 batting average and .610 OPS with 10 home runs and 25 RBI.
The projections heading into 2024 appear pretty consistent across some of the top analytical sites (Steamer, ATC, ZiPS, The Bat). Their composites, courtesy of RotoChamp, project Vientos to slash .239/.308/.429 (.737 OPS) with 16 home runs and 50 RBI
Starling Marte
The DH role is going to be invaluable for the Mets in order to keep Marte fresh. The veteran outfielder was derailed by issues stemming from offseason groin surgery last winter, a neck injury, and migraine problems, which limited him to just 86 games in 2023 with a paltry .625 OPS. That was nearly 200 points lower than the .814 OPS he put forth in his debut season in Queens two years ago, which garnered an All-Star appearance.
When he was healthy, Marte was the invaluable No. 2 hitter in the lineup of a 101-win team. He’ll assume right-field duties come spring, but Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza will have to tread lightly.
DJ Stewart
This is a player who was nowhere near a part of the Mets’ plans in June of 2023, but a barnstorming half-season in Queens suddenly has Stewart at the heart of the club in 2024.
In just 58 games (160 at-bats), Stewart boasted an .822 OPS with 11 home runs and 26 RBI. That’s a 30-home-run pace over 162 games that made him one of the postseason-less club’s most valuable players down the stretch of a disappointing year.
The 30-year-old lefty will pick up time for Marte in right field and could also play left in what could be quite an outfield shuffle in 2024. Stearns brought in Harrison Bader to “play a lot of center field,” meaning usual center fielder Brandon Nimmo could also flex over to left field. But Stewart will have no shortage of opportunities at the dish to carve out a regular role in the majors — something that has eluded him for more than a decade.
