There’s no reason for this fading veteran to still be on the NY Mets roster

Two kinds of players can frustrate fans. There are the redundant ones who hang around doing the same thing as someone else. More noticeable are those not doing much of anything. The New York Mets have been guilty of employing both types. Fortunately, this year’s team has made the most of players who do some of the same things and they don’t have too many without a purpose.

In regards to the second type, things are quickly changing. In just the last couple of days, Brett Baty is showing he took his demotion personally. Not ready to let himself be forgotten, Mark Vientos has stepped up and had some big at-bats as well.

Ideally, the Mets have Baty as their everyday third baseman and Vientos as more of a regular DH with the occasional start at third base or first base. It might be too early for it to officially happen because the team still has Starling Marte continuing to fade and have less of a purpose than ever before.

The Mets are losing reasons to keep Starling Marte other than avoiding dead money

Marte is in the final year of his contract with the Mets in what can only be classified as a deal that aged far more quickly than anticipated. He was signed ahead of the 2022 season and many wondered how the club would split center field duties between him and Brandon Nimmo. It’s a laughable debate in 2025. Nimmo, who won the job in 2022, isn’t even in “center field shape” any longer. Marte had been the team’s right fielder for the first three years of the deal, officially moving into a more limited capacity as the right-handed half of a DH platoon to begin this season.

The planned Marte and Jesse Winker duo at DH was partly the result of not being able to trade Marte in the offseason. He needed some role. On the short half of the DH spot with a good majority of plate appearances versus lefties, maybe he could offer the Mets something.

It hasn’t started off well. He’s hitting .197/.308/.318 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs. This includes just a .191/.320/.333 slash line against lefties with a single home run accounting for his lone extra-base hit against them. So much for doing damage against a percentage of the league. Worst of all, he’s not even all that useful as a pinch hitter as he’s 0 for 7 in those spots. Plus, if he’s pinch hitting for anyone but the DH, the Mets will need to burn through two players anyway.

Adding to the lack of a need for Marte is the situation with Baty and Vientos. While we shouldn’t be completely sold on Baty just yet to stick in the majors, Vientos’ poor defense should have them moving away from a plan of playing third base as often as he had been to start the year. His bat is finally catching up to where we expected it to be. If Baty can continue to hit well against right-handed pitchers, he should play third base to give the Mets their best defensive alignment. This eliminates more playing time for Marte.

There isn’t anything Marte does amazingly well any longer. He’s not hitting the ball hard frequently enough to suggest it’s the result of bad luck. He just appears to be a burnt out veteran nearing the end.

Winker’s eventual return will only complicate things if we continue to see Baty and Vientos produce. The season opened up with many wondering how long of a leash the Mets would give Marte. While a DFA doesn’t appear imminent, it’s going to take a huge turnaround for them to keep him for the long haul of the 2025 season.