Starling Marte, Right Field, New York Mets

Date of Birth: 10/9/1988
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Starling Marte, right fielder for the New York Mets, was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007. He played in the minor leagues from 2007 through most of 2012, finishing with a .303 batting average. In 2012, he played in 47 games with the Pirates.

In 2013, Marte batted .280 with 143 hits, 26 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases in 135 games. As a left fielder in 124 games, he made 175 putouts and 6 errors.

In March, 2014, Marte signed a six-year, $31 million contract with the Pirates. He finished the 2014 season with 144 hits, 29 doubles, 56 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, and a .291 batting average in 135 games.

Marte had a strong 2015 season, batting .287 with career highs in games played (153), hits (166), doubles (30), home runs (19), stolen bases (30), and RBIs (81). He won his first Gold Glove in 2015, playing 141 games in left field and making 180 putouts with 1 error and a .995 fielding percentage. In the postseason Wild Card game, he had 1 strikeout in 4 at-bats.

Marte had another strong season in 2016, batting a career high .311 with 152 hits, career highs in doubles (34) and stolen bases (47), and 46 RBIs in 129 games. Defensively, he also had a good year, wininng his second consecutive Gold Glove. As a left fielder in 114 games, he made 168 putouts and 4 errors.

Marte was suspended for 80 games on April 18, 2017, for testing positive for PEDs. He finished the 2017 season with 85 hits and a .275 batting average in 77 games. Defensively, he played 56 games in left field and 25 games in center field.

Marte finished the 2018 season with 155 hits, 32 doubles, 20 home runs, 33 stolen bases, 72 RBIs, and a .277 batting average in 145 games. Defensively, as the Pirates' center fielder in 139 games, he made 338 putouts and 3 errors.

Marte batted .295 in 132 games in 2019. He finished the season with 159 hits, 31 doubles, 23 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 82 RBIs, and 94 strikeouts to 25 walks. Defensively, as a center fielder in 130 games, he made 297 putouts and 5 errors.

Marte was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on January 27, 2020. The Diamondbacks traded him to the Miami Marlins on August 31st. He finished the 2020 season with 64 hits, 14 doubles, 6 home runs, 27 RBIs, 41 strikeouts to 12 walks, and a .281 batting average in 33 games with the Diamondbacks and 28 games with the Marlins. Defensively, he played 61 games in center field. In the postseason, he had 2 hits in 4 at-bats on 1 game.

The Marlins traded Marte to the Oakland Athletics on July 28, 2021. He spent time on the IL in 2021 with a rib fracture. He finished the season with 145 hits, 27 doubles, 47 stolen bases, 55 RBIs, 99 strikeouts to 43 walks, and a .310 batting average in 64 games with the Marlins and 56 games with the Athletics. As a center fielder in 119 games, he made 280 putouts and 3 errors.

Marte became a free agent on November 3, 2021. He signed with the Mets on November 30th.

Career batting statistics for Marte through 2021 include:

• 1,134 games played
• 1,256 hits
• 233 doubles
• 126 home runs
• 296 stolen bases
• 502 RBIs
• 952 strikeouts to 251 walks
• .289 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Starling Marte
ESPN - Starling Marte