In the first year of his four-year, $78 million deal, Starling Marte was more than worth the money that the New York Mets gave him. He was an All-Star and a key piece on a team that won 101 regular season games. Unfortunately, struggled to stay on the field in both 2023 and 2024, and in 2025, his contract has never looked worse.
It's easy to push this aside because the Mets are currently leading the NL East with a 28-16 record, but that does not dispute one simple fact. His contract looks like one of the worst in baseball right now. The only thing really saving it is that it expires after the year.
Based on how he's played, he might not even last that long.
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Starling Marte contract is an albatross that's tough to ignore
Marte has gone from being an All-Star in 2022 to a part-time DH this season. He is making $20.75 million this season to, for the most part, be a DH in a short-side platoon.
Even if Marte was performing at an All-Star level, no DH on the short side of a platoon is worth over $20 million in a season. One who is playing as poorly as Marte only makes the deal look worse.
The 36-year-old is slashing .203/.317/.319 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 27 games and 82 plate appearances this season. What makes matters even worse is that he's hitting just .182 with a .652 OPS against left-handers. That kind of production for someone who has played just four innings in the field this season would be bad regardless, but for someone making over $20 million, it's awful.
Perhaps the worst part of Marte's struggles has to do with what was once his best trait. He's the active leader with 455 stolen bases throughout his career, but he has just three steals this season and ranks in the 11th percentile in sprint speed according to Baseball Savant. He's gone from a burner to someone that the Mets should consider pinch running for late in games.
The Mets are going to give him every chance to produce, given his contract and his clubhouse presence, but at some point, a team that's trying to win a World Series will have a hard time justifying giving him any playing time, especially in the middle of the order like they've been doing. Hopefully, the Mets can get something from Marte this season to make the contract look at least a little bit better.