Mets add Marte, Álvarez, Ruf to Wild Card roster

NEW YORK -- Injured outfielder Starling Marte not only made the Mets’ Wild Card roster, but he was in the starting lineup for Game 1 despite a fractured right middle finger that has sidelined him since the early days of September -- and despite the fact that he is still operating at less than 100 percent.

“In a situation like this, you kind of have to suck up the pain,” Marte said through an interpreter.

Marte looked no worse for the wear in his return, going 2-for-4 and making a nice running grab in right field as one of the few bright spots for the Mets in their 7-1 loss to the Padres.

The only concession that manager Buck Showalter made to Marte’s finger, which he fractured when Pirates pitcher Mitch Keller struck him with a fastball Sept. 6, was to bump Marte from his customary No. 2 spot in the lineup to No. 6. Otherwise, everything was status quo for Marte, who slotted in as the Mets’ starting right fielder. Before the game at Citi Field, Marte took multiple rounds of batting practice, hitting one ball more than 400 feet over the fence in left-center field. He plans to wear a tight cloth wrap on the finger underneath his batting glove.

When evaluating Marte, Showalter said he had a frank pregame conversation with the outfielder and ultimately took him at his word.

“I trust him,” Showalter said. “Every time he’s had something similar to this and he’s told me something, there’s a real trust there that we’ve had.”

The Mets had plenty of incentive to include Marte on their roster, considering his dynamic season that saw him hit .292/.347/.468 with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 505 plate appearances. Lifetime, Marte is a combined 18-for-47 (.383) with four homers, a triple and two doubles against Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Josh Hader, all of whom the Mets are likely to see this weekend. He also possesses the strongest arm of any Mets outfielder.

Asked if Marte’s finger is still broken, Showalter demurred, replying: “What’s the definition of broken?” Marte said he last received an X-ray about a week ago, which showed enough inflammation in the area that team trainers forced him to delay his return to baseball activities. But Marte has been swinging a bat for several days, including during a live BP session against teammates Tommy Hunter and Phillip Diehl.

“It means a lot,” Marte said of returning for the playoffs. “This team went out there and battled when I wasn’t around. Now to be able to be here with them and to go into this competition, it means a lot for me to go out there and help.”

Also on the roster is rookie catcher Francisco Álvarez, who figures to serve the team in a DH role. The Mets called Álvarez up for the last few games of the regular season, and after a disappointing debut weekend in Atlanta, he rebounded to collect a homer, a double and two walks over two games vs. the Nationals. Álvarez, who gives the Mets a right-handed option alongside Darin Ruf, can become the youngest Met to appear in a postseason game in franchise history.

“Francisco showed pretty well,” general manager Billy Eppler said. “[We’re] taking a little bit more of a process-based approach -- what he does in the batter’s box, what kind of decisions he makes. He showed pretty well. And he swings with intent. He’s got bad intentions in the batter’s box.”

Left off the roster were Tyler Naquin, a part-time left-handed outfielder, and Mark Vientos, a rookie who played sparingly down the stretch. The Mets also left off Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and Trevor Williams, three starting pitchers who were unlikely to be of much use in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. All three are eligible to rejoin the roster for the NL Division Series should the Mets advance.

The Mets will carry 14 position players and 12 pitchers, including nine relievers, for the Wild Card Series round.

Pitchers
Chris Bassitt
Jacob deGrom
Edwin Díaz
Mychal Givens
Seth Lugo
Trevor May
Tylor Megill
Adam Ottavino
David Peterson
Joely Rodríguez
Max Scherzer
Drew Smith

Catchers
Francisco Álvarez
Tomás Nido
James McCann

Infielders
Pete Alonso
Eduardo Escobar
Luis Guillorme
Francisco Lindor
Jeff McNeil
Daniel Vogelbach

Outfielders
Mark Canha
Terrance Gore
Starling Marte
Brandon Nimmo
Darin Ruf