Carson Benge seeks to help Mets 'win any way I can' as he battles for Opening Day spot
Mets outfielder Carson Benge during a spring training workout on Feb. 17 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The clock is ticking for roster decisions to be made.
For the Mets and their fans, all eyes are on Carson Benge.
The 23-year-old outfielder — the Mets’ No. 2 prospect and the No. 16 prospect in the sport, according to MLB.com — looks like a potential cornerstone of the club’s future. But as he competes with eight-year pro Mike Tauchman to be the Opening Day rightfielder, just how soon the start of his big-league career arrives is to be determined.
Ten days separated Monday and the Mets’ regular-season opener against the Pirates at Citi Field on March 26. Benge has done his part and remains even-keeled entering the final week of camp.
“I’m just going out there and still playing ball,” he told Newsday before Monday night’s game against the Nationals at Clover Park, in which he started in rightfield and went 2-for-2 with two walks to improve his spring training average to .406 and OPS to .972. “Whatever happens will happen for a reason. So I’m just going to go out there and play my game.”
Benge started last season with High-A Brooklyn and ended it with his 24th game playing for Triple-A Syracuse.
Benge, who is tied for the team lead with 13 hits, views his first big-league camp as a success.
“I feel like it’s been going good,” he said. “I felt like I came in and I felt like I’ve done what I wanted to do from the moment I came in. Put some good ABs together, helped the team win any way I can, no matter which way that may be.
“But over anything else, just be myself.”
To just be himself is a sentiment that manager Carlos Mendoza has echoed to Benge throughout spring training.
“He needs to continue to play his game,” Mendoza said Monday. “ . . . There’s a lot that can happen between now and Opening Day. He’s done everything we’re asking him to do. I like how he’s playing defense, a couple of reps, a couple of games in center. I like the at-bats. There’s a lot to like there. So he doesn’t have to do anything extra at this point.
“He’s just got to go out there and continue to be himself and let us make that decision. It’s not an easy situation to be in for a player like that.”
Benge could become the first Mets position player to debut with an Opening Day start since Pete Alonso in 2019.
Benge said it has been “amazing” to form a relationship with Mendoza. He also mentioned bench coach Kai Correa, third base and infield coach Tim Leiper and first base and outfield coach Gilbert Gomez, who was his manager with High-A Brooklyn. He also has enjoyed interacting with and learning from the more seasoned outfielders on the team.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Everyone’s been nice, teaching me different things, and everyone’s been introducing themselves to me and talking to me, and I felt like I’ve made a few friends.”
Despite the competition between the two, that includes Tauchman, 35. He is 7-for-21 (.333) with a homer in a spring training that has gone well for him, too. Perhaps there is room for both on the 26-man roster.
“We talk quite a bit,” Benge said. “I’ve learned quite a bit from him. But at the end of the day, we’re both competing. But I have no ill intention against him at all.”
The Mets drafted Benge 19th overall out of Oklahoma State, where he was college teammates with Nolan McLean, in 2024. His rise has been rapid, as he played for Brooklyn, Double-A Binghamton and Syracuse last season. He posted a .281/.385/.472 slash line with 15 homers and 73 RBIs in 116 games in 2025.
So what does he hope to accomplish by the end of 2026?
“That I can just look back and say I played every game my hardest no matter where I may be, no matter where I may end up,” Benge said. “Just know that I didn’t take an at-bat or pitch for granted.”
Notes & quotes: Mendoza said Francisco Lindor “feels good” after making his spring training debut Sunday. He participated in the team’s workout Monday, remains “day-by-day” and should be in Tuesday’s lineup if he still feels good . . . Mark Vientos went 0-for-4 on Monday, continuing his struggles. He is batting .040 (1-for-25) in spring training and went 2-for-15 (.133) for Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic . . . Mendoza said righthander Huascar Brazoban will have a spot in the Mets’ bullpen as long as he’s healthy. Brazoban should return to Mets camp soon; the Dominican Republic’s run in the World Baseball Classic ended Sunday night. Mendoza added that the team is looking at one available bullpen spot. Brazoban will be joined by Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, Luis Garcia and Tobias Myers. Craig Kimbrel and Bryan Hudson are among the final options.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
