New York Mets Duo Among Early NL Comeback Candidates

A New York Mets slugger and starting pitcher are among the National League players that are putting together potential comeback player of the year honors.

Two New York Mets are among the players that are off to the kind of starts that could lead to National League Comeback Player of the Year honors later this year.

One was with the Mets last year in outfielder Starling Marte while new starting pitcher Luis Severino made the list, published by The Athletic.

Marte hit a downturn last season. After batting .292 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI in his first full season with New York in 2022, he struggled to a .248 batting average with five home runs and 28 RBI in 86 games.

The 35-year-old spent two different stints on the injured list, including missing the final two months of the season.

But so far he’s bounced back. In 22 games he’s batting .282 with four home runs and 12 RBI.

The Mets signed Severino in the offseason from the New York Yankees, where the right-hander went 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA, with 79 strikeouts and 34 walks in 89.1 innings.

Before joining the Mets he spent his entire career with the Yankees, where he made the AL All-Star team in 2017 and 2018 and finished in the Top 10 of Cy Young voting both seasons, including a third-place finish in 2017 with a 14-6 record and 2.98 ERA.

In 2018 he won a career-high 19 games.

So far, Severino is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA in four starts, with 21 strikeouts and nine walks in 21 innings. He’s become a solid part of the Mets rotation in the season’s first month.

Other NL players selected were Washington Nationals outfielder Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Frankie Montas, San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale and San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto.