Stearns: Carson Benge Will Have A Chance to Make Team in 2026

David Stearns is attending the general manager meetings in Las Vegas this week, and he spoke with reporters for the first time since his season-ending debrief in October.

He was asked about his offseason plans for the team and plans for what the 2026 roster will look like, and one statement stood out: he said Carson Benge will come to spring training with a shot to make the team.

Benge, the 2024 first-round pick, shot up prospect boards in 2025 with his performance across Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, slashing .281/.385/.472/.857 across the three levels. His well-rounded hit tool and solid defense in the outfield—particularly center field—earned him rankings as the team’s best non-pitching prospect from multiple prospect evaluators.

The comments came after Stearns said the team needed to give its young players a chance to play next year, like it did last year with Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and others. Stearns has shown a clear philosophy that its quality young talent will get a chance to play in the bigs and get evaluated that way, and Benge will have the clearest opportunity to capitalize in 2026.

Currently, the Mets only have Tyrone Taylor as a true center fielder on the roster, and the market for center fielders isn’t brimming with options. You can see a world where the Mets have Taylor, Benge, and a free agent addition on a short-term deal battling for at-bats and a roster spot in the spring.

Now, here’s a recap of the rest of Stearns’ comments

Alonso & Díaz Would Be Welcomed Back

Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz are the team’s two best free agents, and Stearns noted that “they’ve been great representatives of the organization” but “would love to have them both back.”

Alonso, specifically, has been speculated in the media (and Twitter) as all but gone, and people have made that assumption in large part because of his poor defense at first. (Poor team defense was a sticking point for Stearns when evaluating what went wrong in 2025.)

Stearns was asked about how Alonso’s defense contributes to his overall evaluation of bringing a player back, and Stearns kept it diplomatic, saying that defense, a player’s presence in the clubhouse and in the community, their offensive capabilities and more all go into evaluating a player.

Also, the savvy Stearns made sure not to give away any leverage when asked if the team has any internal options to close if Díaz doesn’t re-sign, saying that “you never know exactly how the back end of your bullpen is going to take shape.”

“Over the offseason, we’re going to add to our bullpen,” noting that they have plenty of vacancies to fill.

Brett Baty & Mark Vientos

Stearns made it clear that he thought Brett Baty had a “really good” season last year. He posted a .748 OPS and 2.3 fWAR. He didn’t say he’d be the everyday third baseman, but he did say he’d get “significant time at third base” next year, and that’s about as good of a sign for Baty as you can get.

As for Mark Vientos, Stearns acknowledged that Vientos wants to prove that 2025 was an “outlier” and that he should be prepared to come to spring training “ready to perform.”

“Regardless of how the roster shakes out, there’s going to be opportunity.”

Other Notes

• Juan Soto likely won’t get a ton of time at designated hitter next year, and the team believes he can perform better defensively than he did last year.
• Stearns doesn’t see Kodai Senga as a bullpen option. He has the talent and desire to bounce back, he says, and the team will give him the opportunity to do that.
• He also said the team learned some “distinct and notable” lessons from last year, which will inform how they acquire players moving forward. He said they will keep those lessons internal.

The post Stearns: Carson Benge Will Have A Chance to Make Team in 2026 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.