Mets woes continue with a pair of recent injuries
Thursday was a day to forget for the New York Mets, both on and off the diamond.
Amid a disappointing 2023 season, the club endured another setback just moments after first pitch flew against the Chicago White Sox, as outfielder Starling Marte hit the 10-day injured list due to migraines retroactive to July 17th.
Marte has struggled mightily in year 2 of a four-year, $78-million contract, slashing .254/.308/.332 with only five home runs and an 83 wRC+ across 84 games, worth an even zero fWAR. But it seems other factors have been at play, at least lately.
The 34-year-old visited a specialist and underwent testing on Wednesday, where it was determined he’d miss additional time. Mets skipper Buck Showalter revealed the right-hander was feeling better prior to Thursday’s contest but didn’t provide a timeline for his return.
If that weren’t enough, New York lost another one of its outfielders during the series finale versus Chicago. Tommy Pham, one of the franchise’s top trade candidates, departed with a right groin injury after trying to beat out a double-play in the bottom of the third inning.
Pham attempted to stay in the game, jogging out to left field to begin the fourth inning, but Showalter thought better of it and removed him from the game.
The 35-year-old, who signed a one-year deal worth $6 million in the off-season, initially injured his groin during the Mets’ road trip to San Diego before the All-Star break. He didn’t require an IL stint, though he spent the week off recovering from the injury.
Without the luxury of a break in the schedule this time, New York’s training staff is unsure if the veteran outfielder will need to be placed on the injured list after suffering his latest setback. They expect to have further clarity once the results from his imaging return.
Pham, however, believes there’s a decent chance he’ll avoid an IL stint as the tightness in his groin isn’t as severe as it was during the first go-around a few weeks ago.
“I don’t want to give out false hope and say something and have to retract my words but I would say it’s not as bad as two weeks ago, so there’s reason to be optimistic,” Pham said post-game.
Losing the right-handed slugger for any length of time would surely impact his trade value, especially at this point, with just over a week until the August 1st trade deadline. Given that he’s a rental, his interest level will undoubtedly decline if sidelined through the rest of July.
On the field, things continued to snowball for the Mets on Thursday, as a back-breaking sixth inning saw them surrender four runs – three unearned – en route to a crushing 6-2 defeat at Citi Field. As such, they dropped to 45-51, placing them seven games out of a playoff spot.
It wasn’t all terrible news, though, as the team announced a corresponding move for Marte’s IL stint, which will see infielder Mark Vientos recalled from triple-A Syracuse. The 23-year-old, a former top prospect, has logged 49 plate appearances with New York in 2023.
But from a trade perspective, everyone is hoping that Pham – who’s hitting .272 /.356/.475 with nine home runs, 35 RBIs and a 130 wRC+ in 74 games with the Mets – won’t be out of action for long.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: tdorante10. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.