J.D. Martinezs long-awaited Mets debut expected Friday vs. Cardinals

Since the Mets signed J.D.Martinez in March, they’ve talked a lot about his knowledge of hitting and what he can pass along to some of the team’s younger hitters.Hitting coach Jeremy Barnes mentioned again in San Francisco this week when asked about the pending arrival of the 36-year-old slugger, whose Mets debut has been delayed by back issues, as Barnes said Martinez “could probably be a hitting coach in his own right.”Though that part of Martinez’s game will surely be valuable, when he’s expected to finally get in a game for the Mets on Friday night when they open a seven-game homestand beginning with the Cardinals, they still need him to do something else: hit.That’s what Martinez has done throughout his career, including last season with the Dodgers, when he finished with his highest OPS (.893) since 2019, when he was an All-Star in Boston.Carlos Mendoza said he planned to hit Martinez fifth in the lineup, right behind Pete Alonso.“My goal, and [fellow hitting coach Eric Chavez]’s goal, is to give him what he needs right now,” Barnes said of Martinez, who went 3-for-8 with a double in his tuneup with Triple-A Syracuse.

“We’re not looking to overhaul anything or change anything.We just want him to insert himself in the lineup and give us quality at-bats.”While the Mets’ bats went quiet in three of their final four games on their otherwise successful West Coast swing, they come back to Citi Field still having scored six or more runs in four of their last seven games. Francisco Lindor seems to be shaking off his early-season struggles, which should also help an offense that will be without Francisco Alvarez for the next month-plus following his thumb surgery.They rank in the top half of the majors in several major categories, so Martinez shouldn’t be asked to carry too much of the load, as had been feared when the team got off to its horrific start to the season.“He’s a really well-respected, veteran hitter who has been through...