RVH - The Call: Carson Benge Isn’t Just On The Team… He’s The Right Fielder

 

Good morning.

The Mets didn’t just make a roster decision this week. They made a statement.

Carson Benge is not heading to Syracuse. He’s not easing in. He’s not a fourth outfielder. He’s the starting right fielder on Opening Day.

And that tells you everything you need to know about where this organization is right now.

This Isn’t a Spring Story. It’s an Organizational Signal. Prospects don’t break camp as starters by accident. Especially not in a front office run by David Stearns.

This is not about:

• A hot three weeks in March

• A need to fill a temporary hole

• Or a “let’s see what we have” approach

This is a conviction decision.

The Mets believe:

• The bat is playable now

• The approach will hold

• The athleticism translates immediately

More importantly:

They believe the team is better with him on the field today than waiting another two months.

Why Benge Fits This Version of the Mets

All winter we talked about the shift:
→ Younger
→ More athletic
→ More positionally flexible
→ More complete across the roster

Benge checks every one of those boxes.

What he brings isn’t just upside.

It’s functionality:

• Can handle multiple outfield spots

• Brings energy and range to the corners

• Doesn’t require protection to stay on the field

• Adds a different offensive look to the lineup

This is what a “system-complete” roster looks like. Not just stars. But pieces that actually connect and extend the system.

The Timing Matters (More Than People Think)

If you read the schedule breakdown earlier this week, you already know:

April is a win-banking window.

This is not the time to:

• Carry developmental passengers

• Hide players in platoons

• Or wait for upside to show up

This is the time to:

• Put your best 9 on the field

• Take 2 of 3 from teams you should beat

• Build the early cushion

Starting Benge now tells you:

He increases their probability of winning games immediately.

Not in June.

Now.

What Success Actually Looks Like

This is where expectations need to be set correctly.

If you’re looking for:

• 25 HR pace out of the gate

• Immediate middle-of-the-order production

You’re watching the wrong thing.

What matters early:

1. Competitive At-Bats

• Is he working counts?

• Is he avoiding chase?

• Is he forcing pitchers into the zone?

2. Defensive Stability

• Clean routes

• Confident reads

• No hesitation

You don’t need highlight plays.

You need no-damage plays.

3. Game Speed Adjustment

• Can he handle sequencing?

• Can he adjust within at-bats?

This is where most young players either settle in or drift.

The Real Risk (And It’s Not What You Think) The risk isn’t that Benge struggles. Most rookies do at some point.

The risk is: organizational hesitation if he does. If this is truly a conviction decision, then the runway has to be real.

You don’t make this move and then:

• Pull him after 30 ABs

• Start mixing and matching

• Turn it into a soft platoon

That breaks both the player and the signal.

What This Says About the Mets

Zoom out.

This isn’t just about Carson Benge. This is about a front office that is:

• Willing to trust its evaluations

• Willing to accelerate when the system supports it

• Willing to align roster decisions with competitive windows

This is how good organizations operate. Not reactively. Decisively.

Final Thought

Opening Day is about more than the lineup card. It’s about identity.

And putting Carson Benge in right field on Day 1 tells you exactly what this team is trying to be:

Faster. Younger. More dynamic. And most importantlY: Willing to win with its next core, not just wait for it.

We’ll see how it plays. But the decision itself?

That part is already clear.

Steve Sica- Reliving my Favorite Mets' Opening Day Moments

Shea Stadium on Opening Day 2006
Photo Courtesy of Centerfieldmaz

At long last, Opening Day is now just 48 hours away. No team has a better record that the Mets on Opening Day, coming into 2026 with a record of 41-23, good enough for a winning percentage of .641. Yes, the Mets do an excellent job at making a first impression, it's the rest of the 161 games you have to worry about. 

I've been watching the Mets since 2000, so you'll have to forgive me for not including Opening Day moments pre-21st century, such as Gary Carter's walk-off home run against the Cardinals in 1985. Here are my personal top-five favorite Met Opening Day's. 

2004: First Pitch Fireworks from Kaz Matsui in Atlanta

This game sticks out to me for one reason only. Kazou Matsui. The Mets began the 2004 season in the home of their arch rival, Turner Field against the Atlanta Braves. It was the debut of what the Mets hoped to be a successful career of Japanese infield import, Kazuo Matsui. 

Matsui got off to a fast start, belting the first pitch of the season and first of his career into the center field seats for a home run. That was the start of a perfect 3-for-3 day for Matsui who also collected three RBIs in the Mets 7-2 win over the Braves. Ex-Brave Tom Glavine picked up the win, going six solid innings allowing just two runs, and Mike Piazza added on with a home run of his own.

Alas, this was one of the lone highlights in that 2004 season, as Art Howe's second and final season in orange and blue ended with a record of 71-91.

2006: Mets Start Magical Season With a Thriller Over Washington

There was a buzz in the air at Shea even before the first pitch of that 2006 season was thrown. After years of rebuilding and signing top free agents, the Mets finally seemed to have a team ready to compete with the rest of the NL East. The season began on a cool and cloudy day against the Nationals. Once again, Tom Glavine pitched a gem, going six innings and allowing just one run. 

New additions Paul Lo Duca and Xavier Nady both drove in runs and David Wright hit his first of 26 home runs as the Mets entered the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead. New closer, Billy Wagner made quick work of the first two Washington batters, but Jose Vidro was able lace a hit into center field and make himself the tying run on base. Only problem, he never gave the next batter the chance to drive him in. 

Vidro decided to test the arm of Met Center Fielder, Carlos Beltran. Beltran threw a perfect strike to second base to nab Vidro trying to stretch a single into a double the the Mets had a dramatic win on Opening Day. The first of many memorable moments at Shea that season, as the Mets would win 97 games in 2006, and win their first NL East title in 18 years. 

2012: Mets shutout the Braves Behind Johan Santana and David Wright

There wasn't much to celebrate in the Mets first few years at Citi Field, but Opening Day 2012 had just about everything go right for the Mets. Johan Santana was back from injury and the Opening Day starter. He wouldn't disappoint shutting out the Braves through five innings allowing just two hits while striking out five. 

The game stayed scoreless into the sixth inning, when after the Mets got the first two men on base, David Wright drove in Andres Torres to gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. That was all the Met bullpen would need as the Mets hung a goose egg on the Braves 1-0. 

The Mets would go on to sweep the Braves and start 2012 at 4-0. The season would win up being David Wright's last full one in Queens before injuries ravaged his next few years on the Mets. Two months later, Johan Santana would throw another shutout, that was of course the Mets first no-hitter. 2012 is a forgettable year for most Met fans, but for one day in April, everything went perfectly. 

2013: Mets Pummel Padres with Unlikely Power Surge

The 2013 Mets went into that season with probably the lowest of expectations. Their Opening Day starter was Jon Niese, who actually did well, turning in six and two thirds innings of two run ball with four strikeouts. Journeymen players John Buck and Marlon Byrd were starters, who each had two-hit games. Part of the Mets' 13-hit barrage where they beat San Diego 11-2.

The leadoff hitter in that game? Little known outfielder, Collin Cowgill. He put the finishing touches on the Mets' blowout win with a seventh inning grand slam. He was the first Met to hit a grand slam in his team debut, and the first Met to hit an Opening Day grand slam, since Todd Hundley did it in 1995.

2015: Mets Put up a Statement Win in the Nation's Capital

By 2015, the Mets finally had a team that was realistically ready to compete for a playoff spot. After years of being in the doldrums, the Mets seemed to have a squad that would challenge the Nats for the NL East title. 

What better way to prove that than by beating the Nats in DC? That's precisely what the Mets would do. It wasn't young aces Matt Harvey, or reigning ROY Jacob deGrom who started for the Mets that afternoon. Bartolo Colon, the 42-year-old fan favorite held the defending NL East champs to just one run over six innings while striking out eight as he out-dueled Max Scherzer. 

The offense came from a two-run Lucas Duda single in the sixth and a Travis d'Arnaud RBI-triple in the seventh as the Mets silenced the DC crowd with a 3-1 victory. A sign of things to come as the Mets went 11-8 against their NL East rivals and ultimately took the NL East flag away from them. Winning their first division title in nearly a decade.

Tom Brennan: Benge is a Met; Misleading Spring Stats, and Other Scattered Mets-related Observations

CARSON BENGE MADE THE TEAM!  YEAH!

PHENOMENAL!

That gives the Mets TWO legit Rookie of the Year candidates.

Carson Benge and Nolan McLean.

Both are from Oklahoma State U. 

Henceforth, the data is overwhelmingly clear: 

ONLY draft OSU guys!

LET’S GO CARSON!!

NEXT TOPIC: SPRING STATS CAN SOMETIMES MISLEAD

Anthony DiComo on Mark Vientos:

“Vientos is a great example of how Spring Training statistics can lie to us. 

“Did you know that among the 308 batters with at least 25 balls in play this spring, Vientos ranks 27th in average exit velocity? 

“He's been crushing balls directly into gloves. He’s not striking out much.”

 

So, that helps someone like me to rationally minimize the pain of his 4 for 51 spring/WBC malaise. I am clearly just being misled here, that’s all.

Obviously, though, when a slugger hits home runs, the only “gloves” they may directly land in are fans’ gloves, so Mark needs to make more balls disappear into outfield fans’ gloves. You bat 1.000 on those.

OTHER SCATTERED OBSERVATIONS

From scattered minds come scattered thoughts. Here are just a few:

Mets‘ Luis Robert, Jr.

On Sunday, Luis Robert Jr. was up 3 times and fanned 3 times. 

A reminder he is talented but can be offensively frustrating at times. 

Little Luisangel Acuna through Sunday meanwhile was a dandy 17 for 41 for his new team after the Roberts trade. The Luis duo may just end up co-starring in a remake of the great Murphy/Akroyd flick: Trading Places.

More:

The forgotten ace of most of the 2025 season, David Peterson, pitched a nice five innings on Sunday. Which was great to see.  Most of his fast balls were in the 91+ mile an hour range, with a handful getting up to about 92.5. So he’s about 3 mph faster than Sean Manaea in his last spring outing. But Petey was still a little underwhelming speed-wise.  Hopefully, DP adds some velocity, too, as the season progresses in the weeks ahead.

More:

The last two innings on Sunday were thrown by 23 year old Packer Carlson, with no presumable relation to blogging Tucker Carlson. 

Packer, undrafted, was amazingly hurling his first two pro innings on Sunday. He lost in part due to Nick Roselli failing to glove a seemingly catchable triple. 

So are his stats, which worsen the Mets’ spring team ERA, meaningful? I’d vote no. Stats only count starting Thursday. More:

More:

Yunior Amparo, now 19, and who raked in the DSL last year, singled in his lone spring training AB. He did, however, go 0 for 2 in the prospects game last week, which doesn’t count toward official Spring stats. 

His position? I dunno…he played 5 positions last year, which is hard to do in just 50 games. Whatever position he plays, may he become a spokesperson for Burger King, which will change their menu name to a Whopper Yunior when he makes it big in a few years.

More:

Besides Sugar Rush Diaz with LAD, former Mets prospect Ryder Ryan - AND his brother River Ryan - threw a combined 21.1 innings for LAD this spring, with 23 Ks.  When I saw that, my first reaction was, “oh, brother”.

More:

My “former 6’10” high strikeout, high walk fave prospect guy”, Paul Gervase, threw 9.1 innings, with 11 Ks and just one free pass, for LAD. I had a feeling he’d straighten out that control problem.

OK. One more. 

Another former Mets prospect fave, Rhylan Thomas, went a blistering 18 for 37 (.486) for Seattle this spring. 

He does what he does best…hit, and NOT strike out. 

Just 3 Ks in 43 PAs this spring, after hitting.325 in AAA in 2025, where he fanned 32 times in 618 PAs. That is a microscopic 35 Ks in 651 PAs.

Can we “contact” Mr. Contact and get him back to NY, please?

Wait - there’s more…

Pete Alonso? 2 HRs and 3 RBIs in his first 2 Orioles spring games. Wow.

Thereafter, he had 54 Plate appearances…with no home runs and no RBIs. 

How about them apples?

Finally, back to the Mets regular season, thankfully starting this week. 

May the Mets go 162-0.  

Our very own Ray, to be clear, is not feeling quite as optimistic.

Me? I figure it this way:

You have no season losses yet, so just decide to kick the losing habit. 

162-0. Put it in the books.

Paul Articulates – Final decisions to be made

It is getting very close to the regular season.  Final decisions on the 26-man roster are still being made.  All the fans are anxiously awaiting the roster news and the beginning of regular season play.

What decisions need to be made before Thursday?

1) There are still 15 pitchers on the 40-man roster that have not been assigned to the minors or put on the injury list.  Other than the “locks” to make the team, the following 40-man roster players unassigned are:

a. Richard Lovelady - Lovelady is a known entity and was picked up recently as insurance.  He will hit the waiver wire and then maybe be reassigned.

b. Bryan Hudson - Hudson has struggled this spring despite his potential.  

c. Huascar Brazoban – I believe he will make the roster.

d. Luis Garcia – I believe he will make the roster.

e. AJ Minter is not currently listed on the IL although most projections don’t have him ready until May. 

2) There are also several players that are non-roster invites to spring training that have not yet been formally assigned.  Of that group, there are many that have either been reassigned to minor league camp, verbally told they would not be on the MLB roster, or moved to the IL.  Those that are still hanging on include Jack Wenninger, Joe Jacques, Anderson Severino, Bryan Hudson, and Richard Lovelady.  One will make it.

3) There are still 14 position players on the 40-man roster that have not been assigned to the minors or put on the IL.  Other than the “locks” to make the team, the following 40-man roster players unassigned are: 

a. Ben Rortvedt – It is unlikely that the Mets will carry three catchers.

b. Jared Young – Young has an outside chance with the injury to Tauchman.

c. Vidal Brujan – If Lindor had not recovered so quickly, Brujan would have made the team.  With the emergence of Brett Baty as an IF/OF utility man, it is unlikely that Brujan will be retained.

d. Mark Vientos – One would think that Vientos would be a lock, but his performance this spring has been abysmal, and he does not add to the run prevention theme that drove the redesign of this roster.  I think he still makes it with credit from his 2024 season, but it will be a painful decision.

4) There are also several players that are non-roster invites to spring training that have not yet been formally assigned.  Of that group, there are many that have either been reassigned to minor league camp, verbally told they would not be on the MLB roster, or moved to the IL.  Those that are still hanging on include: Carson Benge, Cristian Pache, and Jose Ramos.  Everyone is convinced that Benge has won the starting right field job, but no announcement has been made.  It was likely that the Mets would carry five outfielders, and with Tauchman suffering from a torn meniscus there may be a spot for Pache.  If Benge makes it, it will come down to Young vs Pache.  My money is on Pache.

These decisions will likely be made as late as possible, as David Stearns scans the waiver wire for players released by other teams that could make an impact with the Mets.  

To me, if it comes down to Pache or Jacques or Hudson versus another team’s castoff, I would go with what the team has now.  But you never know…

Reese Kaplan -- How to Manage the Mike Tauchman Injury

Well, at the eleventh hour of Spring Training the injury happened that will affect the decision making on who travels north from Florida to start the Mets season.  By now pretty everyone has seen the video clip of spare outfielder Mike Tauchman pulling up lame while attempting to jog out to his defensive position.  

He has a knee injury and as of Saturday night results have not been announced regarding how severe it is.  Knee injuries usually take quite a bit of time to heal properly with rest and physical therapy, so this situation for minor league NRI Tauchman who appeared to have secured a substitute role on the club now opens up some new analysis on how best to use this spot.

First of all, if there was indeed any doubt about Carson Benge being promoted to the majors, that door has closed, locked and he’s now pretty much guaranteed his chance to begin his fight for the 2026 Rookie of the Year.  His combination of strong defense, offense and base running skills surprised some and validated others.  Now any caution about allowing him to begin the season in Syracuse is out the window.

So if you step back and take a look at the roster allocation, it would appear that after your starting squad left to right of Juan Soto, Luis Robert, Jr. and Carson Benge is set.  After that, however, it is less clear.  Obviously front office favorite Tyrone Taylor is in line to be outfielder number four.  After that, however, it gets rather murky.

One approach is to allow newly minted outfielder Brett Baty would stand in as the 5th outfielder should the need arise.  It’s not an ideal situation, but other than major slumps or injuries it is not something that would result in much playing time out there.  It is kind of how Jeff McNeil morphed into an outfielder out of positional versatility though McNeil was still hoping to be a starting player.

Another approach would be to revisit the already dismissed alternatives available like MJ Melendez who had a decent spring and is on a split contract.  He’s purely an outfielder with a terrific glove so having him available as the 5th outfielder makes some sense.

Next would come players who have some outfield experience like Jared Young.  The 30 year old lefty swinger has nearly 200 games of outfield experience between the majors and the minors.  As a short term solution he could work.

A compromise would be to add another infielder like Vidal Brujan to the roster which would then make it more possible to move Baty into an outfield role if necessary.  Brujan also has 200+ games of experience in the outfield as well as around the infield.  As a major leaguer he’s sub Mendoza with the bat but has done better in foreign and minor league ball to the tune of a .280 average. 

Right now the decision really depends on how severe the Tauchman injury turns out to be and whether or not the Mets are uncomfortable with Brett Baty having an outfielder’s glove in his locker as a spare part.  

Tom Brennan: Two Losses on Saturday; Upstate Spring Chills; Benge Draft Bonus? Elian Stands Out in Camp

HERE’S J..J..J..J..JOHNNY!!

He was going to throw out the first ball, but…

...he was having a little trouble getting loose.

So, they got this semi-retired winter ball pitcher to throw out the 1st pitch:

Ahh, calendar-wise, spring has sprung. It is still not seasonally warm on Long Island. Anyway…

Hopefully this year, Syracuse and Binghamton will once again have A Few Good Men.

As soon as they thaw out, that is.

I recently read this bone-chilling 2026 post:

Opening Day (for the Syracuse Mets) is scheduled for Friday, March 27th on the road at the Worcester Red Sox.

- MARCH 27???

- The climate tables for Worchester, Ma. for March 27? 

Normal high temperature 43, normal low temperature 27. 

Nothing “normal” about that. Unless you are a Polar Bear.

Classic baseball weather…in Siberia, perhaps. 

Or in everyone’s new favorite get-away place, Greenland. Nothing “Green” about it.

What can one say, in Worchester, except “PLAY BALL!!!!”  

Snow Ball, that is.

(Syracuse on Saturday nite, February 9?  10 degrees below zero, and the wind chill is even lower.  Just 50 days before opening day. Uh huh.)

THE BENGE BONUS

The Mets may want Carson to be on the opening day roster, because if he wins rookie of the year, there is that wonderful draft benefit described by Joe Trezza in a 2024 article, below:

An MLB club can earn a Draft pick after the first round if a PPI-eligible player accrues one year of service as a rookie and then factors into a major award. That means he either has to win his league’s Rookie of the Year award or place in the top three in MVP or Cy Young voting prior to qualifying for arbitration.

But there are a few ways that can happen. One year of service requires 172 days on an active roster, which means …

1. Players with little or no MLB service time need to break camp with the team or be called up within two weeks of Opening Day. Then they must spend all or most of the year in the big leagues. Then they must either win their league’s Rookie of the Year award, or place in the top three for MVP or Cy Young.
2. Players who made an Opening Day roster and accrued the service time but didn’t factor in any awards that year retain PPI eligibility. They need to place in the top three for MVP or Cy Young before hitting arbitration. That typically allows for a three-year window.

Without that potential substantial bonus, Carson would most likely be starting the season in the minors. However, I think because of that potential ROY bonus, which is substantial, I believe he will start the season on the opening day roster. Or he will be called up very, very quickly if he doesn’t.

And if starts out on the opening day roster and struggles? Then he probably has diminished chances of winning rookie of the year, and can be sent down without worry that doing so would forfeit the chance at that draft choice. Anyway, having both Carson and McLean on the roster gives them two great rookie of the year chances. And two great chances of picking up that extra high draft pick.

What happens if the two are co-rookies of the year? Not sure, but I’d like to find out. And heck, through Friday, Benge has been nothing short of tremendous this spring.

ELIAN PEÑA SHINES IN SPRING CAMP

MLB’s Sam Dykstra provided a highly promising update on Pena this week:

(Excerpted)

Camp standout II: SS Elian Peña (Mets No. 9): On the backfields, Peña -- a $5 million signing in 2025 — started his career poorly in the DSL last year as a 17 year old, and hit .342/.463/.618 in 46 games the rest of the way. 

(Pena) has looked more like the latter performer in his first stateside spring. In an intrasquad game Sunday, he went 3-for-4 with two exit velocities above 100 mph, including a 103 mph shot right back up the middle past the pitcher.

Peña (in 2026) could be a player the Mets get aggressive with and assign to Single-A St. Lucie earlier this season than many of his peers.“He's had a phenomenal spring,” (Mets Director of Player Development Andy) Green said.

“He shows up to work every day, is present for his work and loves the challenge that the game presents every day. He’s hungry to move quickly and hungry to prove that our scouts saw something really special in him when they identified him at a young age in the D.R. I really applaud his general resilience as a competitor.”

We’re all hungry at Mack’s Mets too, Elian. And hopeful for a Soto-like 2026. Well, he did smoke a single, walk, and fly out to center in 3 PAs in the Prospect Breakout game.  HE IS READY!

I saw this online:

What is the meaning of the name Elian?

The name Elian is primarily a male name of Spanish origin that means Light.

We’ve seen the light…Elian is de-light-ful.

WORK HARD AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED… SUPPOSEDLY

It doesn’t always work that way in baseball. Mark Vientos, barring some surprise move in the next few days, will be on the Mets opening day roster, despite going three for 46 through Friday. 

Meanwhile, Ronny Mauricio has gone 10 for 32, and his reward is a ticket to frigid Syracuse.

If baseball were purely a meritocracy, several people, including Mauricio would be headed north, and several people who are headed to Queens, like Vientos, wouldn’t be.

Where have you gone, Mark de Swaggy O? Mets fans turn their lonely eyes to you. Whoo Whoo Whoo.

Well, after going 0 for his first 3, he came up a 4th time. Could he avoid 3 for 50? 

Yes indeed. Mark homered off a minor leaguer named Varland.  

They all count. Every one.

A 404 footer. And more than 404 pounds of pressure removed from each shoulder.

Joander Suarez put up 4 scoreless and Watson added 3.1 scoreless. Good job by both.

Joltin’ Jack Reimer had a double and a walk - my friends, he can rake. On base 11 of 25 times (.440) in official spring games. I ran a 440 once in under 60 seconds. Not easy. Neither is .440.

In the main game on this Split Squad Saturday, Jonah Tong was good, giving up several soft hits and 3 runs, while walking none and fanning 5. Got in 78 pitches. Nice workload. Don’t nitpick him.

Some guy who only Ernest Dove knows, named AJ Salgado, came into the day 0 for 4 with 4 Ks. Not knowing AJ from DJ or JD, my expectations were low. Naturally, he went 3 for 3, including a triple, upping his spring average by 429 points. Do THAT again!  AJ was filling in for Mike Tauchman, who needed an MRI on his left knee. Ouch.

Marcus Semien? A nice over the shoulder catch and he raked a 3 run double.  “MVP!”

Ryan Lambert had a “shaky bad” outing.  He hit 99 a few times, but was mostly 97 on the FB, and wild. He gave up a 3 run blast to Christian Walker. After finally getting one out, on his 28th pitch, he was relieved. Bad day, go have some eggs and relax.

Lefty Aaron Rosek came in to complete the frame - both of his outs were via the K.

Two Mets losses on the day, neither of which count an iota on opening day.