As the Mets enter a pivotal offseason heading into 2026, the team has plenty of questions to answer when it comes to the roster.
Two of the positions that will be in focus for David Stearns and company are center field and third base, and speaking at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas on Monday, the Mets’ president of baseball operations gave some insight into those two spots.
Asked specifically about the team’s options for center field, Stearns said that while veteran Tyrone Taylor has played well defensively, prospect Carson Benge has a legitimate chance of making the team out of spring training.
“Carson Benge is going to come into spring training with a chance to make our team, and we’ll see where the offseason takes us beyond that,” Stearns said.
“When you have good players at the upper levels of the minor leagues, we have to find space for those players to play. Carson is among them. He’s not the only one, but he’s among them. So, as we build out our team, we have to ensure that as we move forward, there is room for our young players to get to the major leagues when they deserve to get there, and have a chance to really contribute to our major league team.”
Benge, ranked as Joe DeMayo’s No. 3 prospect in the Mets’ system, started last season with High-A Brooklyn but ended up playing 24 games for Triple-A Syracuse before the season came to a close.
While Benge struggled a bit at the Triple-A level (.583 OPS), it was still a strong year overall for the former first-round pick, as he posted an .857 OPS with 15 home runs and 73 RBI across all three levels.
Third base, meanwhile, features a pair of internal candidates in Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, both of whom were formerly top prospects.
According to Stearns, while it’s early in the offseason to make any kind of sweeping proclamations about the 2026 roster, he does foresee “significant” playing time at third for Baty.
"I think Brett had a really good year, took some real steps forward in his development," Stearns said. "I think going into the offseason, he's probably someone we would pencil in for significant third base time next year.
“Probably premature in mid-November for me to outline exactly how playing time is going to be allocated, but Brett did a really nice job. He earned more and more opportunities as the year went on, I think he's going to continue to get that."
Baty posted a .748 OPS with 18 home runs and 50 RBI while playing both third base and second base last season.
As for Vientos, who had a down 2025 after a 2024 breakout season that saw him smash 27 home runs, Stearns said the objective is for him to come into spring training ready to play, no matter what happens with the rest of the roster over the next few months.
“I think Mark had a disappointing year last year. I think he’s very motivated to prove that last year was the outlier and he’s much closer to the player that we saw in ’24,” Stearns said. “The one thing that’s apparent is no matter how our roster shapes out, there is going to be opportunity. Through performance or injuries, there are always opportunities, there are always plate appearances, there is always playing time for players who are performing.
“So what we’re encouraging Mark to do is put himself in a spot where he comes to spring training ready to perform, regardless of what our offseason looks like.”
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