The Mets are trying to get a diagnosis for what has been a nightmare season on multiple levels for Starling Marte.
Three days after the Mets activated the outfielder from the injured list, a stint that resulted from migraines, they put him back on the 10-day IL with a right groin strain.
In between the IL trips, Marte went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts and continued to look little like the All-Star he was last season.
It is possible the 34-year-old’s downturn is attributed to the offseason surgery he required on both sides of his groin, which addressed tendons that had separated from the leg.
The Mets sent Marte to the Philadelphia-based doctor who performed the surgery to check on his groin.
The Mets said they will not know more until Marte meets with the doctor Tuesday.
“I think we all know by the level we’ve seen him play at last year that he hasn’t been able to do that consistently,” manager Buck Showalter said before the Mets opened a series at Citi Field against the Cubs on Monday. “I can get into all the factors and things that are going on with him, but I don’t think he’s 100 percent.
“And I think we need to try to get our arms around getting him back to that again.”
Showalter referenced “pain and discomfort” that Marte has been feeling during a season in which he has never appeared healthy.
The most tangible sign has been his running.
Last year, his sprint speed was measured at 28 feet per second, 183rd in baseball.
This year he has fallen to a career-worst 27.1 feet per second, 283rd in the game.
Less tangible has been why Marte has dropped off precipitously at the plate.
His .292 average last year has fallen to .248 this year.
His power has gone missing, following up a 16-homer season with a five-homer campaign.
“You can see that his pitch recognition of the breaking ball is down because he was having to cheat so much to the fastball,” Showalter said of Marte, who is signed through 2025. “He was having trouble loading.
“We’ve all seen him be a lot better. I feel for him. It’s got to be really frustrating to have that much skill and ability and not be able to get to it.”
Marte’s headache of a season has been literal, too.
He missed two and half weeks in July and early August with migraines, which he had dealt with in the past but not to this level.
Marte returned, but with the club out of contention and with Marte clearly not right, the Mets want to check on his groin.
“We’re going to try to go another direction, see if we can get it taken care of,” Showalter said. “Can that happen in eight or nine days? I don’t know. See what the doctor has to say.”
To replace Marte and the optioned Brett Baty on the roster, the Mets called up outfielder Abraham Almonte and infielder Jonathan Araúz from Triple-A Syracuse.
Almonte, a 10-year journeyman, had posted a .925 OPS in 41 minor league games.
The Mets had optioned Araúz on Friday but were able to recall him quickly because he was replacing an injured player. Araúz got the start at second base Monday.
With Mark Vientos serving as DH, Daniel Vogelbach was absent from the starting lineup again.
Vogelbach, typically the DH through the first four months of the season, has started one of seven games in August, in which the Mets have prioritized development.
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