Why the New York Mets need to trade Starling Marte

The New York Mets added generational outfielder Juan Soto this offseason on the largest free agent contract in baseball history to play right field.

They also returned outfielder Jesse Winker on a one-year deal while expecting full seasons of health and effectiveness from outfielder Brandon Nimmo and second baseman/part-time outfielder Jeff McNeil.

What playing time does that leave for veteran outfielder Starling Marte?

According to Will Sammon, Mets beat writer for The Athletic, it shouldn't leave any.

In The Athletic's "One pressing question for all 30 MLB teams heading into spring training" article, published Wednesday morning, Sammon takes the Mets writeup and makes the case for the team trading the 36-year-old Marte, even if it means eating some of the money left on his contract to do so.

"On the Mets’ roster, Marte stands out as a luxury — someone who proved he can still be productive when healthy, but also someone regarded as depth and who will probably mostly see time against lefties (.844 OPS against them in 2024)," Sammon writes. "Trading Marte would open a path for someone like Mark Vientos to DH against lefties, allowing for someone like Acuña to play third base in just one configuration."