MIAMI — Starling Marte is optimistic about his return to the field, stating he feels “close” to making a comeback, as he shared with reporters before the Mets’ game against the Marlins on Saturday. Marte resumed baseball activities on Friday for the first time since suffering a right knee bone bruise in late June.
His recent activities have included light exercises like playing catch and hitting off a tee, which are manageable as long as he can handle the pain. Marte is eager to return to competitive play and has received encouraging news suggesting he might be closer to a return than expected.
“Yeah, I think I’m close,” Marte said through interpreter Alan Suriel. “Yesterday, after meeting with the doctors and reviewing my knee, I received good news. I’ll keep working with the trainers, but it’s also about finding the rhythm and getting back into form.”
Friday marked Marte’s first baseball activities since he left the Mets’ game on June 22 against the Cubs due to what was initially called knee soreness but later identified as a bone bruise.
As for the positive update, Marte mentioned, “The doctors said the knee looks significantly better. There’s still some inflammation, but with proper training, it should eventually go away.”
Marte, who has faced several injuries in recent years, including migraines, a groin strain in 2023, and a finger fracture in 2022, hasn’t played more than 120 games in a season since 2021 with the Marlins before his trade to the Athletics.
In 2022, Marte was performing well with a .292 average before missing part of the season with a finger fracture. This year, he was hitting .278 with seven home runs in 66 games before his injury, surpassing his 2023 home run total in fewer games.
Reflecting on his injury, Marte said, “It looked really bad, and the doctor advised shutting it down because it could have worsened with my current level of play. I didn’t expect it; it was quite a surprise.”
Marte described waking up with knee pain, which he initially thought was due to extensive running and base-stealing, but it persisted and worsened. The doctors were surprised by how much he had played on the injured knee and warned that continuing might have led to further damage.
According to the New York Sports Medicine Institute, Marte’s bone bruise is likely an interosseous type, commonly affecting athletes, resulting from repetitive impact and leading to bone marrow damage.
Marte acknowledged that his playing style, which involves a lot of running and changing direction, likely aggravated the injury. However, he has no plans to alter his approach once he returns.
“It doesn’t help anyone for me to rush back and risk getting hurt again,” Marte said. “I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but of course, the sooner the better.”
