On the surface, it doesn’t really make sense to compare the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets have been all-in this offseason, signing multiple free agents while the Cardinals have spent more time focusing on unloading their current roster rather than adding to it.
These two very different strategies have resulted in similar situations within each respective organization. The Cardinals are stuck with Nolan Arenado whose presence at spring training has created an 'elephant in the room' situation. Arenado would prefer to stay with St. Louis if the organization would be more competitive in the near future but it has been made clear that is not the case. On the flip side of that, the Mets have explored dealing veteran Starling Marte and Marte is perfectly fine staying in Queens despite trade rumors.
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Starling Marte takes opposite approach of Nolan Arenado amidst trade rumors
Marte is 36 years of age and will be entering his 14th season in the big leagues. The two-time All-Star has produced consistently throughout his career and has been a valuable piece for the Mets over the last three seasons.
All of the moves the Mets have made this offseason, specifically adding Juan Soto to the outfield, will undoubtedly directly impact Marte’s playing time. Marte is expected to see less time in the outfield and could potentially occasionally be used as a designated hitter but will primarily provide the Mets with depth off the bench.
With this being the case for Marte, the Mets explored ways they could trade him this offseason and were very upfront about the entire situation according to Marte himself.
“They obviously want the best for this team but also the best for my future. They were really helpful and really transparent about the situation there….Obviously I’m here for a reason, if they wanted to trade me they would’ve gotten rid of me a long time ago,” Marte said.
Instead of creating distractions within the clubhouse by unwillingly being with the Mets at the start of this season, Marte has chosen the more professional approach to buy into whatever role he is asked to play. This won’t show up in any box score this season but helping create a culture like this could make the Mets even more dangerous than they already are.