New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte had an atypical offseason.
He spent a considerable amount of time rehabbing from surgery to repair two tendons on both sides of his groin.
The rehab limited him for several weeks, forced him to miss the World Baseball Classic (WBC) with the Dominican Republic and put a question mark over his status for Opening Day.
There were doubts about whether or not he had enough time to be ready for the start of the season with the Mets.
Well, he just had his spring training debut on Friday and it went as well as you could expect.
“Starling Marte’s first plate appearance since offseason groin surgery results in a no-doubt double to left. Big grin from Marte,” Mets insider Anthony DiComo tweeted.
Starling Marte’s first plate appearance since offseason groin surgery results in a no-doubt double to left. Big grin from Mars.
—Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 10, 2023
DiComo explained in his next tweet that Marte actually homered in his next at-bat.
There are 20 days to go from here until Opening Day, but yes: Mars has plenty of time to get fully ready for that moment.
He has been working hard just to be ready to return to live game action.
The Mets certainly need him at his best when the season starts.
He is one of the most dynamic players in baseball, and certainly played the part in 2022.
Last season, he hit .292 with 76 runs, 16 homers, 63 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and an .815 OPS in limited action.
If fully healthy, he is definitely capable of being a 20-homer, 30-steal guy.
The Mets can use those numbers and his presence near the top of the lineup as a spark-plug.
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