Starling Marte is leaving Oakland and moving to the Big Apple to join the New York Mets.
The prized free agent of the center field class, Marte's move to the Mets is said to be a “done deal pending physical,” per John Heyman of MLB Network. He is reportedly signing a four-year, $78 million deal.
While Marte is already 33 years old, he is considered the best available center field player in the otherwise thin free agency market. He is coming off the best season of his 10-year MLB career, posting a .310/.383/.458 line. The 2016 All-Star and two-time Golden Glove winner hit 12 home runs and and stole an MLB-best 47 bases in the 120 games he played in between the Miami Marlins and Oakland A's in 2021.
The Starling Marte signing caps off an exciting day for the Mets after making huge waves with their other free agency additions. Before taking Marte, they also brought in veteran outfielder Mark Canha and infielder Eduardo Escobar.
Canha signed a deal worth $26.5 million over two years, while Escobar joined on a two-year, $20 million contract.
The Mets have certainly addressed a lot of needs in just one day, positioning themselves as one of the better teams heading to 2022. They did spend $124,500,000 in three players, but they are certainly worth the price if it means adding more wins to their 77-85 campaign in 2021.