Mets’ Starling Marte to Miss Significant Time With Injury

The Mets received bad news on Tuesday regarding Starling Marte's knee injury.

Jun 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte (6) cools off in the dugout against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets received an unfortunate update regarding outfielder Starling Marte’s recent knee injury. 

Before Tuesday’s Subway Series showdown against the New York Yankees, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Marte would be shut down for at least two weeks before another round of imaging was done on his injured right knee.

Therefore, it will likely be at least four weeks until Marte makes his return to the field. 

Carlos Mendoza says 2 week shutdown for Starling Marte, then another round of imaging so likely at least 4 weeks before he’s in play for the Mets again

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) June 25, 2024

Marte, who is hitting .278 with a .744 OPS, seven home runs, 30 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 66 games this season, was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Sunday) after imaging tests revealed he had a deep bone bruise in his knee. 

The 35-year-old’s knee has been bothering him for the past few weeks. But the pain became unbearable enough over the weekend so Marte had to be removed from Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. At that point, the team sent Marte back to New York to undergo testing. 

"It's one of those things where one day it's better and other days not so much, but it's something we've been battling with,” Marte said to reporters on Saturday through the team's interpreter. “And today was just one of those days where it just hurt more than most days." 

The initial hope was that Marte would be healthy enough to return once his 10-day stint on the IL ended. However, the best case scenario is that he will be back in the Mets’ outfield before August. But he could require a rehab assignment prior to returning to the big-league club.

New York called up outfielder Ben Gamel from Triple-A Syracuse in Marte’s stead.