The Mets overhauled their offense this past winter, and most of the players they moved were replaced by new faces. They weren’t sold to each other, though Marcus Semien he takes Jeff McNeilPlace in second place. Pete Alonso an Oriole, too Jorge Polanco will take the bulk of the first base reps in his absence (although the new third baseman Bo Bichette arguably a direct replacement for Alonso’s big right bat). The one player who hasn’t been directly changed, is the left winger Brandon Nimmo.
After Nimmo was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Semien, the Mets seemed like the most logical place to land the first baseman. Kyle Tucker. The Mets pursued him, but Tucker ended up going to the Dodgers. The Mets moved quickly to sign Bichette to fill out the middle of their lineup. Exchange of Luis Robert Jr. they closed the hole with the club they were following in the center Cedric Mullins‘ walk, but that still leaves space in the corner of the outfield. That position remained more or less unfilled. Mike Tauchman (minor league deal) and MJ Melendez (split the league deal) signed as free agents, but the Mets plan to offer the top prospect Carson Benge a chance to get a big league job.
After Tucker again Cody Bellinger coming off the market, there weren’t many players without a definite impact available. Benge can end up being more productive than someone like him Harrison Bader or Mike Yastrzemskiso it made little sense to stop him by signing a player of that caliber to a multi-year deal. Benge is a consensus 20-sport prospect who reached Triple-A late in his 2025 campaign. A host of other top prospects, incl Connor Griffin of Pirates, JJ Wetherholt cardinals, Justin Crawford of the Pills, and Bryce Eldridge The Giants have a strong chance to field their organization’s major league roster in Spring Training despite little MLB experience.
Does Benge also fall into that category? There’s no doubt the team views him as a long-term option, but he didn’t force the issue with his minor league release. Benge played 24 games for Triple-A late last year but only slashed .178/.272/.311. It’s just a sample of 103 plate appearances, of course, and his work in both High-A (.302/.417/.480 in 271 plate appearances) and Double-A (.317/.407/.571 in 145 plate appearances) early in the year showed just how electric his bat can be. Benge went 4-for-14 earlier this spring.
There is some competition in the camp. The aforementioned Melendez never found his footing in the majors with Kansas City, but for a long time he was considered a top prospect. He is a career .257/.340/.496 hitter with 35 home runs in 173 Triple-A games. He has homered twice and added a double in 11 spring plate appearances.
Tauchman, a 35-year veteran, provides a low-cost alternative with a strong major league record. He split time between right field and DH for the White Sox last year after spending two seasons as a part-timer with the Cubs. Over the past three seasons, he’s slashed .255/.359/.381 with a 111 wRC+, averaging a 21.3% strikeout rate against a solid 13.0% walk rate. Tauchman’s first nine plate appearances this spring produced a double and a homer.
We’re still about three weeks out from Opening Day, which gives Benge plenty of time to prove himself MLB capable, or for Tauchman to recover. There are many factors to consider in Benge’s decision. Sending him to Triple-A would allow him to get more offseason after struggling there late last year and could buy the Mets another year of club control. Breaking camp with Benge on the roster could open the Mets up for future draft consideration through MLB’s promotional incentives.
What do MLBTR readers think? Do the Mets commit to Benge as their opening day right fielder, or will they take another option like Tauchman or Melendez? Have your say in the poll below:
