Marte’s strong debut

Mendoza told Starling Marte to take things easy in his first spring action on Monday — and sure enough, the veteran outfielder lined the very first pitch he saw from Cardinals starter Sonny Gray down the left field for a double.

Marte admitted that he considered advancing to third as Jesse Winker was gunned down trying to score from first — but he ended up staying put and scored a few pitches later on a Jeff McNeil double.

He struck out swinging in his next at-bat, but most importantly, his knee passed the first test.

“It feels good, thank God,” he said through a translator. “The coaches and the training staff have done a great job with me every single day, day-in and day-out, trying to get the knee a little bit better. I’m working with the coaches in the outfield.

“We’re taking it slow so it doesn’t get any worse, but so far so good with each passing day.”

Marte has been a key contributor for New York when healthy, but he was limited to just 94 games last season with a knee injury, and he appeared in just 86 games back in 2023 after undergoing offseason double-groin surgery.

If he is ready for Opening Day, the 36-year-old is expected to slide into more of a bench role this season, receiving time at DH and in the outfield.

Canning’s impressive outing

Griffin Canning made his first start of the spring (second appearance) and was impressive.

The right-hander showcased the changes he’s made to his arsenal as he cruised his way through the Cardinals’ lineup — retiring the final nine hitters he faced after allowing a leadoff single to Luken Baker in the top of the second.

That was the only baserunner allowed as he struck out five and generated 11 whiffs across 3.2 innings of work.

“I felt good out there,” Canning said. “That was my first real start of the spring, so it felt good to get that out of the way. I feel like I’m getting better every single day. I’m just trying to stay in the present moment, just trust the process and taking things one day at a time.”

The 28-year-old has now put together 5.1 scoreless innings in two spring appearances.

Much of his success can be credited to tweaks to his wind-up and some newly developed weapons this winter. He’s started throwing a cutter, a two-seam, and has been toying with a new slider — which he used to pick up two of his punchouts on Monday.

“He was very good tonight,” Mendoza said. “The slider was good, the changeup was good. Because those two pitches were working the fastball played. He attacked, he mixed his pitches well. Some of the pitches he’s working on, today you could see it there.”

Canning is in good position to start the season in the Mets’ starting rotation.