Of course Juan Soto wants the NY Mets to re-sign Starling Marte, but can it work?

When you sign a player for $765 million, his voice is a few decibels louder than his teammates. Juan Soto spoke about the free agency of two New York Mets players this offseason, saying about exactly what we’d expect him to.

With Pete Alonso, he’s advocating for the Mets to retain an important part of the team’s culture and everyday structure of the lineup. The long-tenured first baseman remains a superb match to come back to Queens. As for Starling Marte, it’s a bit more debatable with only a small number on one side.

Marte ended up having a better season than many expected last year. Used well with frequent matchups versus lefties and regular DH duty, he actually ended up hitting better against righties, slashing .275/.343/.413 in 182 plate appearances. He was only slightly worse versus lefties. The balance made him more useful even if he rarely played the field. Bringing him back would garner favor with Soto who views him as a leader. Can it work for the team overall?

Starling Marte coming back to the Mets feels a little too limiting unless they subtract from the roster

Marte and Alonso on the same roster together causes some chaos immediately with the thought of the latter DH’ing more regularly even in the coming year. The big debate with Alonso letting his glove gather dust has to do with further down the line. However, if this whole idea of run prevention is paramount to David Stearns, the two will have trouble co-existing.

We also have Mark Vientos. A trade candidate, an Alonso alternative at first base, or just a DH, we begin to see some major redundancies on the roster.

The Mets bench is far from complete. A player of Marte’s abilities at the plate would be welcomed. Now 37 with fewer than 100 games played in each of the last 3 seasons, he’s nothing more than a part-time DH who doesn’t hit for much power. He doesn’t even run a whole lot either, swiping 7 bases last season for a new career-low.

When it comes to rounding out a bench, you want players who can at least do one thing really well. Luisangel Acuna gives them speed. Marte gives them veteran leadership and based on last year’s results, an above-average offense limited to rare base hits. Minus the ability to play the outfield regularly these days, it’s hard to imagine the Mets having the clearance to have him around for the long haul of the 2026 season. Tyrone Taylor might start the year in center field but surely won’t end there. Reducing him to a bench role eats up one more spot. Jeff McNeil becoming nearly impossible to trade is yet another hurdle they’ll face in reducing the numbers of open spots they could have for a player like Marte.

The Mets just don’t have the need for Marte to come back beyond what he may bring to the locker room. We begin to fall into the “definition of insanity” by keeping the band together. As minimal as his contract might be in the grand scheme, it’s one more consideration as every dollar the Mets go over certain thresholds will cost them even more. In theory, a $5 million deal for Marte would essentially force the Mets into paying $11 million or so.

Soto shouldn’t get his way with this one. At the same time, the Mets need to think carefully about who they do add. Let those big splashes be guys who can offer what Marte apparently did behind the scenes. Better yet, grow into the leader Marte was. Become the one who helps the team get through the tough times.