Report: Mets' Starling Marte Expects To Play RF On Regular Basis, Optimistic About Opening Day

Report: Mets' Starling Marte expects to play fight field on a regular basis this season, and believes he will be ready for Opening Day.

Mets outfielder Starling Marte appears to be trending towards being ready for Opening Day.

Marte, who has been dealing with left oblique soreness during spring training, played right field for the Mets in a minor league game on Wednesday.

While the 33-year-old was advised against swinging the bat, he laid down a bunt, and looked healthy while sprinting down to first base. Afterwards, Marte advanced from first-to-third on a double. He also tagged up from third base on multiple shallow fly balls. 

As Marte told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, he believes he will be ready when the Mets' break camp on April 5. Earlier in the week, he began hitting off a tee, and has since progressed into taking soft toss and indoor batting practice. The last step will be for Marte to start taking outdoor batting practice, which could occur soon.

According to DiComo, Marte expects to play right field a lot during the regular season, despite holding zero prior experience at the position. Marte has spent a total of 9,431.2 innings between center field and left field in his 10-year career. 

Out of the Mets' three projected starting outfielders (Brandon Nimmo, Mark Canha and Marte), Marte has the strongest arm of the bunch. If Marte plays right regularly, this would put Nimmo in center field, with Canha manning left field. 

NYC To Change Vaccine Rules

Mayor Eric Adams is expected to announce on Thursday that unvaccinated athletes will be allowed to play professional sports in New York City, per Politico.

In recent weeks, Adams would not say whether or not the city was going to lift their vaccine mandate for in-town athletes and performers, despite allowing unvaccinated visitors to participate in games and events in New York. 

With the mayor reversing the private-sector vaccine mandate, this means that all Mets and Yankees players will be able to play in home games when MLB's regular season begins in April. 

The Mets' home opener is scheduled for April 15 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Yankees will open up their season in the Bronx versus the Boston Red Sox on April 7.

Drew Smith

Per multiple reports out of Mets' camp in Port St. Lucie, relief pitcher Drew Smith is dealing with foot soreness, which has kept him out of drills as of late. On the bright side, Smith is expected to return to full activity in the near future. 

The 28-year-old righty posted a 2.40 ERA, 1.065 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 41.1 innings out of the Mets' bullpen last season. Smith's promising campaign came to a premature end on August 14 due to right shoulder inflammation.

Adam Ottavino was the only reliever that the Mets signed to a major-league contract during the offseason, despite losing reliable lefty Aaron Loup. This could open the door for Smith to take on a larger role after producing an impressive season in 2021.