KANSAS CITY — Starling Marte is nearly ready to be activated off the injured list.
The right fielder has been with the team in Kansas City this week working out. He’s been taking swings in the cages and running the bases. Marte also took batting practice on the field Thursday ahead of the Mets’ series finale against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
The hope is that he’s ready to play Friday when the Mets start a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, the AL’s best team. However, it’s still tentative, given he’s still having migraine headaches.
“Compared to previous weeks, I feel a lot better,” Marte said through a translator Thursday. “I’ve been working to try to get better and, God willing, I’m able to continue to stay healthy and be on the right track so I can be out there on the field.”
Marte was placed on the 10-day injured list July 20, when he was having migraines on back-to-back days and was too weak to play with the effects of the debilitating headaches. Specialists were seen to try to determine why the headaches were coming so close together and Marte sought a second opinion.
“That was my call since I was a little worried about it after I had consecutive migraines,” Marte said. “That had never happened. That headache I had was a lot different than I’ve had. We got it checked out, everything is pretty normal so it eased our spirits on that one.”
Marte underwent an MRI to see if there was anything more serious causing the headaches, but nothing was found. The Mets were also trying to work around the birth of his child last week and the club was sensitive to his concern for his partner given the fact that his ex-wife passed away from a heart attack during ankle surgery in 2020.
There were a lot of factors in play, but Marte appears to be on the upswing.
“The headaches were a real concern,” said manager Buck Showalter. “I’m not going to try to play medical doctor here, but we all know that those migraines through the years are caused by a lot of different challenges. He’s got a new baby here now and a lot of things that were affecting him emotionally. I’m looking forward to getting Starling back. He had some pretty major surgery in the offseason and every day he gets away from it, there is the potential for him to get back to the form that was there.”
The Mets are also hoping Brandon Nimmo will be available Friday in Baltimore. If not, they may have to consider putting him on the injured list, which is exactly what they’ve been trying to avoid by resting him in Kanas City. The center fielder has been out of action in Kansas City with quad tightness. Nimmo could’ve played through it this week but the Mets decided to exercise caution.
Nimmo allowed Showalter to make the decision and the manager chose to let him rest. However, Nimmo was available off the bench Thursday.
The Mets could use the two outfielders back given the lack of offense against the Royals. The team managed only two runs over the final two games.
Left-hander David Peterson will be inserted back into the rotation for the Friday night opener in Baltimore this weekend. Saturday’s starter hasn’t yet been announced. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi is injured, which leaves right-hander Tylor Megill as the most likely candidate to make the start in the second game of the series.
Megill has struggled in Triple-A, going 0-3 with a 8.67 ERA in six starts since his demotion from the major leagues.
Jose Quintana will finish the series for the Mets against right-hander Kyle Bradish.
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