Starling Marte ‘willing to do whatever it takes’ with Juan Soto on Mets roster
Soto mentioned having talked to Marte in the past and having talked with him throughout the season.
Juan Soto might not have talked to any of his former teammates on the Yankees about free agency, but there is a member of the Mets he mentioned Thursday during his introductory press conference: Right fielder Starling Marte, the player whose place he’s taking in right field.
Soto mentioned having talked to Marte in the past and having talked with him throughout the season. This isn’t necessarily surprising, considering the two both come from the Dominican Republic and played for the National League team at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. Marte even welcomed Soto to the Mets with an Instagram story earlier this week.
Having an established friendship could be beneficial since the outfield is a little crowded right now.
“His role is obviously going to change because we’ve got Juan Soto, who is going to play in right,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Thursday at Citi Field. “I had that conversation with Marte not too long ago after the news broke. He’s willing to do whatever it takes. He’s all about winning, and he’s at a point in his career that he wants to win a championship.”
The 36-year-old Marte has one year left on his four-year contract, Brandon Nimmo has left field locked down and Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor are expected to share time in center field. Without Soto, that’s a pretty solid defensive outfield. While Marte’s metrics haven’t been what they used to be over the last two years, he’s still got a strong arm and good instincts in right field.