NY Mets lineup against the Red Sox raises two big questions about the same player

With the New York Mets offense in desperate need of a spark headed into Wednesday night’s series finale at Fenway, Carlos Mendoza’s lineup card looks a bit different. For the first time this season Juan Soto is batting third but ahead of him isn’t Mark Vientos, it’s Starling Marte. Marte will also be in the field for just the second time this season.

Starling Marte batting second and playing left field doesn't fix any of the Mets immediate issues.

The reasoning was obviously to stack the righties against Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet but I’m not too sure this was the best way to go about it. While Marte did get a hit on Monday night against Aroldis Chapman, he’s hitting just .222 against lefties this season with seven strikeouts in 27 at-bats. A small sample size, but he is hitless in three career at-bats against Crochet. Marte’s average is down to .211 on the year. I still see the rational about getting him in the lineup tonight, but hitting second is what is hard to understand. Maybe he sees better pitches with Soto and Pete Alonso looming but there’s a clear outlier now at the top of the Mets lineup.

Marte’s starts this season has been few and far between but outside of one they’ve all been at designated hitter. Mark Vientos will be the DH on Wednesday; Mendoza has opted to put Marte in left. His only appearance in the field this season came in a May 4th loss to the Cardinals where he was removed after five innings. Mendoza told reporters that was the plan. Marte, a lifetime right fielder, hasn’t started a game in left since 2017. The last time he played the position was for three innings in the 2020 shortened season.

It’s not any left field either, obviously there’s a difference and big challenge that comes with playing in front of the green monster. We’ve seen some of the best outfielders struggle out there. There’s no denying the Mets offense has been a big problem for over a week now but the defense hasn’t been a bright spot either. Having Marte bat second and play left field doesn’t initially appear to help either of those situations.