NEW YORK -- From the time Starling Marte arrived at Spring Training, the Mets¡¯ goal was to keep their oft-injured, 35-year-old outfielder as healthy as possible.

Their track record of doing so came to an end on Tuesday, when the Mets placed Marte on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his right knee. Marte will refrain from participating in baseball activities for at least two weeks and will be sidelined for a minimum of a month. At best, Marte would return in late July, but his absence could linger depending on his rate of recovery.

¡°We¡¯ve been very careful with him, giving him a couple days off,¡± manager Carlos Mendoza said. ¡°But it got to a point ¡­ that we needed to take care of it.¡±

While the origins of Marte¡¯s bone bruise are unclear, he initially sat out a June 5 game against the Nationals due to right knee discomfort. Marte rested twice more in the ensuing weeks before exiting Saturday¡¯s game against the Cubs in the second inning. He subsequently underwent medical tests on Monday, which revealed the bone bruise.

Marte will undergo follow-up testing in two weeks, at which point the Mets will determine whether he¡¯s ready to restart baseball activities.

This marks Marte¡¯s eighth trip to the injured list since 2016. He is batting .278/.328/.416 in 66 games this season, with negative defensive metrics.

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To replace him on the roster, the Mets called up outfielder Ben Gamel, 32, an eight-year veteran who came to the club on a Minor League deal in part because of his relationship with Mendoza. Gamel had been hot at Triple-A Syracuse, going 10-for-26 (.385) with a home run and two doubles in the seven games prior to his callup.

¡°Me and [Syracuse hitting coach Collin Hetzler] just bounced stuff off each other all year long,¡± Gamel said. ¡°Got hot early and just kind of rode it out, more than anything. We weren¡¯t really tinkering. We just kind of had a plan.¡±

Despite his Minor League success, Gamel profiles as more of a bench option in Marte¡¯s absence. Tyrone Taylor started in right field Tuesday and will be one of several candidates to man that position, along with DJ Stewart and Jeff McNeil.

¡°Guys will step up,¡± Mendoza said. ¡°I know it¡¯s a big loss for us, but I feel good about what we have in there.¡±