3 challenging Mets roster questions the team may have to answer early in 2024

3) Where does Starling Marte belong on defense and in the lineup?

A specific player Mets fans have their concerns with, Starling Marte is someone whose role on the team is far from defined. Ideally, he would have still been the starting right fielder this year and batting near or at the top of the starting lineup. Injuries and a poor performance in year two with the team have us second-guessing everything.

Where does Marte line up defensively? Right field will be his spot to lose. The open DH spot should provide him with enough opportunities to get into the lineup more regularly without having to worry about playing defense. Let Tyrone Taylor track down a few extra balls or if he’s hitting well enough, ask DJ Stewart to grab a glove.

Perhaps more alarming is how little Marte may offer the Mets on offense. A defensive decline is expected for all players. The sudden drop off from 2022 to 2023 came at us too quickly. Marte didn’t play like a top of the lineup guy last year. He wasn’t even worth hitting somewhere around fifth or sixth where some lineup projections have him.

Could Marte end up dropped to one of the last two spots in the batting order? Out of respect to him as a veteran, it might take a while. For the sake of the Mets, it may indeed end up becoming the right decision to make at some point. Let’s just hope he’s not a DH batting ninth. That looks ridiculous.