Starling Marte injury update: Mets get surprisingly great news, and what it means

New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte has struggled to stay healthy after suffering a finger injury in early September. He’ll be back for the Wild Card series.

Marte suffered a partial non-displaced fracture in his right middle finger on Sept. 6. He’s missed significant time since then, and New York has struggled to replace him.

Marte’s rehabilitation hasn’t gone according to plan, as well, leaving some to expect Buck Showalter to leave him off the initial postseason roster for the Mets first series against the San Diego Padres.

“You can’t swing a bat, you can’t throw a ball, it’s going to be hard,” Showalter said as recently as Thursday.

Yet, Marte was added to the Wild Card roster on Friday. Perhaps New York knows something we don’t.

Before he was injured, Marte slashed .292/.347/.468 with 16 homers and 18 stolen bases in 118 games.

Mets set Wild Card roster vs Padres with Starling Marte involved

Just because Marte made the roster does not mean he’ll start right away. Marte has plenty of flexibility in the outfield, as he’s played primarily right and center field throughout his career. Even if he does not get the start, Marte could fill in as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter if called upon.

Along with Marte, young catcher Francisco Alvarez will reportedly make said roster as well. Alvarez is the top prospect in all of baseball, and was called up by New York prior to the pivotal series against the Atlanta Braves, which the Mets were swept in.

New York has a tough road ahead, as they must go through the Padres, Dodgers and then possibly the Braves or Cardinals. That’s the bet they cashed when they lost to Atlanta just a week ago, allowing the Braves to clinch the NL East just days later.