WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 11: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets celebrates with Starling Marte #6 after hitting a home run against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on May 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Pete Alonso and Starling Marte both left Tuesday night’s contest with injuries. How much time will they miss?
The two big-time sluggers in the New York Mets lineup each exited last night’s game with injuries in the second inning.
Marte injured himself on an attempted steal while sliding into second base, he left the game half an inning later with left quad tightness. Alonso was hit on the right hand with a hard sinker from Padres starter Yu Darvish. Both players are expected to miss at the very least a few games.
After the game, manager Buck Showalter was asked if he believed the two players would be back in the lineup within the next few days and he responded with a short and ominous message.
“I love your optimism, but I don’t share it at this point.”
Mets injury update: Timetables for Pete Alonso, Starling Marte
Fortunately for Mets fans, Alonso’s X-rays came back negative so there is no fracture in the hand, meaning a short absence is a real possibility for the 27-year-old first baseman.
Marte, however, is set to have an MRI on his left quad at some point today and is a safe bet to land on the injured list in the coming days according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.
These injury updates come at a bad time for the Mets as they already have three top-tier starters on the IL in Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill. Backstop James McCann is also down with a wrist injury that will likely keep him out from May to the end of June or even into July.
Should Alonso land on the injured list, the Mets have a few in-house options to replace him including oft-used bench bat J.D. Davis as well as the recently-demoted Dom Smith, whose primary defensive position is first base.
Marte may be a bit more difficult to replace in the event of a trip to the injured list, but the Mets have Nick Plummer on the current active roster and have some 40-man options down in the minor leagues in Khalil Lee, Mark Vientos and the aforementioned Smith.