The Mets are open to eating money to move Starling Marte

The Mets are open to paying a portion Starling Mars’s contract to facilitate a trade, write The Athletic’s Tim Britton and Will Sammon. There’s nothing to suggest a deal is imminent or guaranteed to happen, but the Mets could consider the veteran outfielder expandable.

After finalizing the Juan Soto by signing, New York has an excellent outfield. Soto e Brandon Nimmo he will play the corners. Tyrone Taylor He had a nice first season in Queens and projects as a starter in center field. The Mets gained defensive support Jose Siri by the Rays last month. He’s a quality fourth outfielder who could reduce Taylor’s playing time in center.

The Mets don’t necessarily need to trade Marte. They are willing to pay to build reserves under Steve Cohen’s ownership. Yet he’s probably fifth on the outfield depth chart and doesn’t have a great path to earning playing time. He is no longer an option in center field at age 36. The Mets probably wouldn’t move Nimmo back to center field to force Marte into the lineup.

An outfield of Marte, Nimmo and Soto would be limited defensively. The two-time All-Star would essentially be limited to a rotational corner role. He could pick up some at-bats at designated hitter, although the Mets are likely to add a first baseman and may want to leave the DH’s playing time for some combination Marco Vientos, Ronny Maurizio and (if not exchanged) Brett Baty. Mars doesn’t have the kind of power teams typically want from their primary DH, regardless.

To find a buyer, the Mets would need to eat up a decent amount of cash. Marte is under contract for $19.5 million in the final season of a four-year free agent pact. If he were a free agent, he would probably make a little less than half that. He’s coming off a league average of .269/.327/.388 with seven homers in 370 plate appearances. Marte stole 16 bases in 17 attempts, even as his defensive levels in right field plummeted. His elite speed is essentially average at this point. A bone bruise on his right knee cost him about seven weeks between June and August.

Marte is probably under pressure as a starter, but there are teams that could give him more opportunities than the Mets can offer. Speculatively speaking, the Red Sox could be a fit as they search for a right-handed hitting outfielder. The Guardians, Padres, Astros, Royals, Reds and Marte’s old team in Pittsburgh are other teams that could be looking for outfield help.