![\"Laura](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nST. LOUIS\u00a0–\u00a0 Grimace remains marooned on the Island of Discarded Sports Mascots \u2014 a dejected purple blob with a seat next to the Yankee Dandy and the Diamondbacks\u2019 Luchador. Jose Iglesias is just a singer now. And the 2024 Mets are gone for good, a product of a fever dream season that couldn\u2019t be replicated if you tried. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s how it should be. Like a middle-aged man trying to relive his high school glory days, there\u2019s little value \u2014 and a lot of danger \u2014 in getting too stuck in the past. The Mets wisely embraced that notion last year, though it didn\u2019t work out the way they hoped, and fully committed to it this season by gutting their core and rebuilding this team with just a few cornerstones in place. <\/p>\n
But it\u2019s one thing to marinate in former glory, and another to let it logically inform your march toward future success. And Tuesday, the Mets announced one rehash that made almost too much sense: J.D. Martinez is coming back. No, not as a player \u2014 but as special assistant to baseball operations. <\/p>\n
Martinez is expected to play a role similar to the one occupied by Carlos Beltran, manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday, adding that they\u2019ll likely start seeing him around during the next homestand. What does that mean? Well, the Mets will have a guy who\u2019s been there, done that, and done it exceptionally well. Pivotally, he\u2019s also a guy that knows how to share that experience with others \u2014 something he proved when he embraced the elder statesman role in 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, [it\u2019s a] huge, huge addition,\u201d Mendoza said Tuesday before the Mets were set to take on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. \u201cEverybody saw what he meant to the team in 2024 when he first [joined the Mets] \u2014 not only on the field, but off the field. Great guy in the clubhouse. He\u2019s just super consistent, very knowledgeable and very positive .\u2002.\u2002. There\u2019s so much information. The value of having [players] talking to a Hall of Famer in Carlos Beltran and now a guy like J.D. Martinez \u2014 and the mind [they have] and everything they bring to the table.\u201d <\/p>\n
Martinez was a prolific hitter throughout his 14-year career, slashing .283\/.348\/.516, and an assiduous student of the game. He was a key cog in the Mets\u2019 2024 turnaround, and a present, vocal clubhouse leader. But there\u2019s another element, too: Martinez was good with the \u201ckids.\u201d He was close with guys like Francisco Alvarez, and perhaps most notably, Mark Vientos, who had a career year that season \u2014 batting .266 with 27 homers and 71 RBIs, making onlookers believe that maybe, just maybe, the Mets had a future All-Star on their hands. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you would ask him, he\u2019d probably say he didn\u2019t help me at all,\u201d Vientos said Tuesday. \u201cBut I think just being around him and seeing how he went about his business [helped me]. I sat with him on the plane and would see everything he would do [with his preparation] and I learned so much. I soaked up all that info and it was an honor.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one is expecting Martinez to blow into town and fairy godmother Vientos into the 2024 version of himself, but it sure wouldn\u2019t hurt to let him have a crack at it. <\/p>\n
Vientos still has considerable upside, but playing time is scarce \u2014 he got his first start of the season Tuesday at designated hitter \u2014 and had just one at-bat before that, a single. It\u2019s no easy thing, riding the bench and praying you come through in the few opportunities afforded to you. <\/p>\n
He also struggled plenty in spring training, going 2-for-35. And though he\u2019s taken a sanguine approach to his slow start, he has to know the pressure is on. This is now his fifth major-league season, and the Mets are still looking to unlock the version of Vientos that can change the game on a consistent basis. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe definitely had a huge impact on Mark,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cBut not only with Vientos but just in general \u2014 not only with the position players but with the pitching staff and how he saw things from the offense and sharing some of the things with pitching staff .\u2002.\u2002. he was pretty impactful for us.\u201d <\/p>\n
Vientos, meanwhile, called Martinez \u201clike an older brother with me .\u2002.\u2002. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it was easy to relate to him .\u2002.\u2002. We [have a lot] in common. We\u2019re the same type of guy.\u201d <\/p>\n
And if Martinez can help Vientos get back to 2024? Well, that\u2019s one retread they\u2019ll happily accept.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She’s been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LOUIS\u00a0–\u00a0 Grimace remains marooned on the Island of Discarded Sports Mascots \u2014 a dejected purple blob with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":655667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203],"class_list":{"0":"post-655666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mets","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-mets","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkmets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116327040882146950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}