Inside The Mets

Analyst suggests Mets bring back veteran player as hitting coach

Should the Mets bring back one of their veteran players from last season amid offensive woes?
Logan VanDine|
May 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets designated hitter JD Martinez (28) runs out a double against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
May 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets designated hitter JD Martinez (28) runs out a double against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

It's been no secret that the New York Mets struggled offensively during their dismal 1-5 homestand.

As they prepare to visit the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers this weekend for a three-game series, they can ill-afford to keep struggling with their bats, with New York now holding onto a slim three-game lead for the final wild card spot in the National League.

With many casting the offensive woes on hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, should the Mets think about bringing back a familiar face to fix their struggling offense? In an August 7 article for SNY, baseball analyst John Harper suggested that New York should consider bringing in veteran J. D. Martinez as a supplemental hitting coach.

"The Mets can use this as a way to address the problems of making the in-game adjustments that Mendoza brought up Wednesday," Harper wrote. "Why not take a shot with the retired Martinez as some form of supplemental hitting coach? The guy was known throughout baseball as a hitting savant during his career, after all, and he seemed to have a positive effect on the Mets’ clubhouse last season, even if age seemed to catch up with him as a DH late in the year.

"Ideally, the current hitting coaches, Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, would welcome the knowledge Martinez would bring. If not, well, they don’t have much room for complaint after Mendoza, unwittingly or not, raised questions about whether they’re doing what’s necessary to help players make the in-game adjustments the manager deemed as lacking."

Read More: Darryl Strawberry gets blunt about Pete Alonso's Mets home run pursuit

The Mets signed Martinez towards the end of spring training last year to a one-year, $12 million deal to be their starting designated hitter. Even though the now 37-year-old didn't perform as well offensively as he was accustomed to throughout his career, slashing just .235/.320/.406 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI in 120 games last year, perhaps his veteran presence is needed at this time.

New York's lineup is underachieving this year, averaging just 4.3 runs per game (15th in all of baseball) with a team batting average of .239 (23rd in the league) and 140 home runs (10th in the majors).

With the Mets' season seemingly falling off track at the wrong time, perhaps bringing in a veteran player like Martinez, who knows this team well, could be the spark that gets this offense going.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

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