The New York Mets have welcomed a big bat to their lineup. On Friday, the Mets announced veteran slugger J.D. Martinez was added to the active roster, and he made his 2024 debut in their series-opener against the St. Louis Cardinals. Infielder Zack Short was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Martinez batted fifth behind Pete Alonso in his Mets debut and he wasted no time in making an impact. He singled in his first at-bat and in his third time up, gather another knock along with his first Mets' RBI.
J.D.'s first RBI as a Met 🙌 pic.twitter.com/iWIjLm5ze1
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 27, 2024
That was the 1,003rd RBI of Martinez's career and the Mets are the sixth team with which he's driven home a run, following stints with the Astros, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Red Sox and Dodgers.
Technically, Martinez was called up from Triple-A on Friday. He signed a one-year, $12 million contract on March 23 and agreed to be optioned to the minors to start the regular season so he could get at-bats and get up to speed at the plate. Martinez had to give his consent to go to the minors because his service time level allows him to refuse a demotion.
The 36-year-old Martinez went 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles in five minor league games, including 3-for-8 with a double in two Triple-A games earlier this week. Martinez did not play from April 7-20 because of a back issue that was serious enough to require a cortisone injection. He has looked healthy since getting back on the field though.
Martinez authored a .271/.321/.572 batting line with 33 home runs with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He even started the All-Star Game as the cleanup hitter. Although he is no longer the fearsome all-around hitter he was in his prime, Martinez remains a bona fide middle-of-the-order bat and a reliable power source.
Short, 28, was 1-for-9 as New York's utility infielder. The Mets could have kept Short and sent D.J. Stewart to Triple-A. Like Martinez, Stewart is a limited DH type, though he is 8-for-32 (.250) with three home runs since starting the season in an 0-for-10 skid. The Mets want to keep his lefty power bat around.
The Mets entered play Friday with a 13-11 record -- 13-6 since starting the season 0-5.
