2025 Report Card: Starling Marte, DH-OF

Starling Marte

Age: 37 (10/9/1988) B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: .270/.335/.410, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 37 R, 7 SB, 22 BB, 68 SO, 329 PA, 98 G

Advanced Stats: 111 OPS+, 112 wRC+, 20.7 K%, 6.7 BB%, .318 BABIP, .326 xwOBA, 0.7 fWAR, 1.0 bWAR

2025 Salary: $20.7 million

Grade: C

2025 Review

The addition of right-fielder Juan Soto moved Starling Marte into a new role this year. He’d been a designated hitter 10 times in his first 13 years in the big leagues. In his 14th season, he was the DH in 77 of his 98 games played. He took the new job, posted his best OPS in three years, and by several accounts, was a wonderful presence in the clubhouse.

“He’s been a sneaky quiet leader,” Carlos Mendoza said in August. “Just kind of like the way he prepares and how steady he is. His experience and sharing with everyone and kind of bringing everyone together, especially going through some of the tough times, some of the stretches that’s been hard for us, you count on guys like him that’s been in this league for a long time. They understand the ups and downs, but also the sense of urgency of finding ways to turn things around.

“He’s been a total pro … he wants to win. That’s the biggest thing for him at this point in his career. He’s been a star for us.”

The Mets, infamously, went 0-70 this year when trailing after eight innings. But they did win a game on April 23 when they entered the bottom of the 10th down a run to the Phillies. (The game was tied after eight.) Marte came up with the walk-off single to score a head-first sliding Pete Alonso from second to finish a perfect 7-0 homestand.

He finished off that comeback, and on June 10, he started one. The Mets trailed 4-2 with two outs and no one on base in the eighth against the Nationals when Marte battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk. Soto doubled him home, Alonso added an RBI single, and the Mets won 5-4 in extra innings.

“That’s a (14)-year veteran taking an at-bat right there,” Soto said of Marte’s rally-igniting walk. “I think he did a really good job. He stayed on his plan. Everybody wants to come through in that situation, but he stayed patient and gave myself and Pete another chance to come through.”

Soto was a big Marte supporter, telling Mike Puma of the New York Post in August that he is “literally the leader of this team, I feel like he’s actually the captain of this team. He’s bringing everybody together. He’s bringing the energy that we need. He’s a guy who has been stepping up every single time, it doesn’t matter what.

“He’s actually the real deal of the team. He’s the model of the team. Everybody, when they want to talk and get to know something or have a conversation, they can go to him. He’s actually the real deal.”

2026 Preview

Marte is a free agent and expected to leave New York. He played four years with the Mets, slashing .272/.329/.405 with 37 home runs and 165 RBIs. He stole 65 bases in New York to bring his career total to 361, which makes him the active MLB leader in career stolen bases. (He is tied for 102nd all time.)

He showed that he could still provide some value in a limited role and will likely catch on somewhere next season.

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