NY Mets gave free agent Starling Marte a wake-up call with their recent signing

Spring training games are a weekend old and free agency has a lot of offerings for teams still looking to piece together a roster and depth chart. The New York Mets haven’t been incredibly active in February, making most of their final big pushes in January.

They did, however, cleverly sign Mike Tauchman to a minor league deal with an invite to camp. Coming off of a strong season with the Chicago White Sox, it’s a surprise to see him get overlooked by the rest of the league.

Tauchman getting a minor league deal can’t be good news for Starling Marte. Over the past three seasons, Tauchman has outplayed Marte at the plate and in the field. If Marte isn’t hanging up his cleats, it might require a minor league contract.

Is anyone going to give Starling Marte a major league deal?

From 2023-2025, Tauchman has slashed .255/.359/.381. He has been worth 5.2 bWAR and played in 310 games. In that same period, while making significantly more money, Marte has hit .262/.321/.373. His 1 bWAR essentially comes all from the 2025 season with 2023 and 2024 cancelling each other out at -0.7 and 0.7.

Marte is hardly the only ex-Mets player in a similar spot. Michael Conforto is coming off a terrible season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jesse Winker’s return to the Mets ended prematurely with an injury, brief return, and new IL stint. He has been far less productive than Tauchman. As a DH-style player rather than an actual corner outfielder, Tauchman settling on a minor league contract practically guarantees Winker won’t get anything greater.

Marte’s story is the most unfortunate because he actually did produce last year. He was about as good versus righties as he was lefties. His limitations are too great to overlook. He can no longer play the outfield. Health is a question. He lacks power and his speed is fading. As a locker room leader he’s apparently great to have around. That’s what coaches are for.

Spotrac has Marte with a $7.8 million market value which may deserve an asterisk on it. Comparisons for him include contracts ranging from $5-12 million with power hitters J.D. Martinez and Edwin Encarnacion on the $12 million scale, the former of which signed with the Mets prior to 2024.

In an instance, MLB free agency seems to change with perceptions of who is worth a major league deal and who may not be. A player like Marte might’ve gotten $7.8 million in a different market in past years. This season, that offer doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to come around.