Starling Marte is now healthy and delivering big results for the Mets

MILWAUKEE — Arguably the greatest regular-season home run in Mets history wouldn't have meant nearly as much if it hadn't been for the offense that came before it.

Francisco Lindor's season-changing two-run home run Monday in Atlanta was a home run only because there was a runner on base.

At a moment when the Mets were desperate for baserunners and down a run, it was Starling Marte who sent a single to left and was able to run around the bases a pitch later.

And there was Marte again in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, leading off with a two-out single in the ninth to score a game-winning run in the Mets' 4-2 win over the Brewers.

A side effect of the Mets' late-season run that got them into the postseason was Marte, an aging outfielder who often looked like an aging outfielder over the last two seasons and instead looked like himself.

“I think this is probably the best version of Marte that we've seen since his injury,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Marte's latest big success.

Marte's offense has come to life at the right time, not just for the 2024 Mets, who rode the hot hitter and started him in all three games of the Wild Card Series, but also for the 2025 Mets.

There is more hope that the club will have a contributor next year than a future 36-year-old on his last legs.

In the final year of his contract, Marte is scheduled to make $20.75 million next season.

Marte likely won't be the All-Star he was in his first season in Queens in 2022, but the Mets would like to accept the same type of contact-hitting expert with strong stolen-base skills that has been on display lately was provided.

In the postseason win over the Braves, Marte hit two singles and scored two of the Mets' eight runs.

In the first two playoff games against the Brewers, he lived on base (with an OBP of .500), practiced a sacrifice fly, stole a base, and had a home run stolen off Jackson Chourio's glove without recording a single strikeout.

This is the Marte the Mets signed for four years and $78 million. There were concerns about whether he would ever be seen again.

After Marte's outstanding first season with the Mets, the injuries began.

He underwent groin surgery before the 2023 season, which hampered him throughout the year and led to his early retirement after just 86 mostly ineffective games.

This year he appeared to take a step back defensively, including a knee bruise that sidelined him for about two months from June to August.

After mediocre results in the first few weeks of September, Marte has recovered.

He said his confidence hasn't wavered and he believes he can still be the same type of player he normally has been through 13 major league seasons.

“I think first of all, when you're hit with a lower body injury, you might feel like you're a little more limited when it comes to doing what you want to do, but I listened to the coaches,” says Marte added that he felt “really good,” said interpreter Alan Suriel. “I was able to recover properly.”