The New York Mets are off to a 23-13 start and seem like the World Series contenders many anticipated them to be entering the season, but that doesn’t mean everything about the club is flawless.
Manager Carlos Mendoza has changed the team’s lineup against right-handed pitching due to Jesse Winker’s injury, and let’s just say that the cleanup slot has a serious problem for the second straight game.
Yes, Starling Marte has won the clean-up place for the second consecutive match. It would have been acceptable, if not desirable, to hit Marte fourth if this had been 2019 or even 2022. However, it’s very difficult to explain the decision to bench Marte behind what is undoubtedly the NL MVP favorite in 2025.
Mendoza should obviously change his strategy to avoid hitting Marte so high in the order as quickly as possible.
Carlos Mendoza needs to make necessary lineup adjustment for the Mets’ offense to thrive
Marte has two home runs, 12 RBI, and a.183/.296/.317 line through 24 games. With a.623 OPS versus right-handers, he is only hitting.195. On Monday, he was 0 for 3 in the cleanup position. He is 0 for 2 against Zac Gallen, who started on Tuesday. He is hitting at one of the most crucial positions in the lineup; why is that?
Hitting Marte there will only serve to remove the bat off one of the finest hitters in the game right now by giving the Diamondbacks a reason to pitch around Pete Alonso. The last thing the Mets should desire is that.
I understand that, if we’re being fair, neither Mark Vientos nor Brandon Nimmo—the two best players the Mets would want to bat after Alonso—have really stood out this season. That being said, both have improved significantly in recent years and are far more capable than Marte, 36, who no longer contributes much to the dish. At this point in his career, it’s not even as though he can cause chaos on the base paths.
Marte has only 12 RBI in 24 games this season, while Nimmo had a nine-RBI game just last week. Vientos is slashing .298/.359/.509 with three home runs and 10 RBI over his last 15 games. During those 15 games, he has six more hits than Marte has this season.
Fans should never actually engage in daily lineup debates, but it is fair to criticize Mendoza for hitting Marte clean-up when there is a valid argument—and possibly a good one—that he shouldn’t be playing at all. It’s difficult to justify Mendoza, a great manager, for this one obstinate choice until Marte silences the skeptics and begins to resemble his previous All-Star self with more reliable at-bats.
