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.