Takeaways from Stearns’ first in-season presser

NEW YORK — J.D. Martinez will not join the Mets on the West Coast this week, according to the Mets. However, the DH should be able to join them shortly after the trip, which would mean a late April debut could be in sight.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns gave his first state-of-theteam address Tuesday at Citi Field. It’s expected to be a regular thing for the club’s executive. Stearns touched on several topics but Martinez was the most pressing one.

Signing with the Mets late in spring left him to train on his own throughout February and March and an expedited progression has resulted in body soreness and lower back tightness. All parties expected the former, to some extent, but not the latter, which required him to have a cortisone injection last week.

He’s cleared to start swinging a bat again Tuesday after nearly a week off.

“I don’t know that he needs to show anything, I think he just needs to get into a spot where he says, ‘I’m good to go, I feel good,’” Stearns said. “I don’t know that there is anything from an [evaluation] standpoint. I don’t know that we’re necessarily looking for anything.”

Here are some other takeaways from Stearns 16 games through the season.

DH group: The Mets could have carried Mark Vientos, another left-handed hitter, until Martinez completed his progression, but opted to use a rotating cast of hitters in the DH spot instead. Vientos, Stearns said before the Mets broke camp, needed to play every day in Triple-a and work on his defense at third base.

He stands by this decision, giving Baty a vote of confidence at third.

Pitching depth: The Mets cut right-hander Julio Teheran after one poor start against the Atlanta Braves. Right-hander José Buttó will get some run in that rotation spot after throwing six shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals, the team with the best run differential in the league (+39).

“I think the way Buttó has come up and given us very, very competitive outings and thrown the ball to a very high level gives us confidence that we’re in a good place right now,” Stearns said.