Carson Benge

Mets Notes: Peralta, Senga, Benge

By Darragh McDonald | January 23, 2026 at 11:19am CDT

The Mets acquired right-hander Freddy Peralta from the Brewers earlier this week, which led to immediate speculation about his new club potentially pursuing an extension. That probably won’t happen right away, however. Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the club plans to give Peralta some time to get comfortable with his new club. President of baseball operations David Stearns later addressed the media via videoconference and his comments matched that reporting.

“I’m not going to speculate on that Day 1 here,” Stearns said of the extension possibility, per Jorge Castillo of ESPN. “We’ll let Freddy get acclimated to the organization. And, you know, any conversations that we may have or have in the future I think we’re going to do our best to keep private and not talk about publicly.”

The reason Peralta was traded away from Milwaukee is that the Brewers generally don’t spend at a level to keep their best players. Guys like Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams have all been traded in recent years as they reached free agency. Peralta ended up going down the same road but his new club has far deeper pockets than his previous team.

Stearns is very familiar with Peralta and is clearly fond of him. He already signed him to an extension once, when both were with the Brewers back in 2020. This week, Stearns surrendered a couple of notable prospects by sending Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to Milwaukee in order to reunite with Peralta and acquire Tobias Myers.

Now that Stearns has access to more financial resources, he would presumably love to get Peralta to sign on the dotted line again. Based on this week’s scuttlebutt, it seems there won’t be a rush to get that done. Spring training is a common time for extension talks to take place, so maybe more news will trickle out in the next couple of months. In-season extensions are rare but not totally unprecedented. If Peralta gets to the end of 2026 healthy and without a deal in place, he would be a lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer on his way to free agency.

Stearns also addressed a couple of other players on the roster in a sit-down with team reporter Andy Martino. In that interview, Stearns says that outfield prospect Carson Benge still has a chance to break camp with the team even after the Luis Robert Jr. acquisition and that Kodai Senga is expected to be in the rotation.

Back in November, Stearns said that Benge would have a chance to make the team. Not long after making those statements, the Mets opened up a big hole in their outfield by trading away Brandon Nimmo for second baseman Marcus Semien. They then made a spirited effort to sign Kyle Tucker, offering him a four-year deal with a heavy average annual value, but he accepted a similar offer from the Dodgers. The Mets then pivoted and acquired Robert from the White Sox via trade.

After the shuffle, there’s still a path for Benge. The Mets currently project to have Juan Soto in right and Robert in center. At the moment, Benge would seemingly be battling with Tyrone Taylor for the job in left. Taylor is a light hitter but a strong defender, so he would ideally be pushed into a fourth outfielder role by Benge taking the left field job. And given Robert’s history, there’s a decent chance of Taylor ending up getting regular playing time in center as well.

Benge has no major league experience yet and isn’t on the 40-man roster. His Triple-A work is also short and unimpressive, though he was perhaps unlucky there. He began last year at High-A and tore through that level as well as Double-A, slashing a combined .308/.413/.513 for a 174 wRC+ at those two stops while playing all three outfield positions. He finished his 2025 with a .178/.272/.311 slash at Triple-A, though that was in a tiny sample of 103 plate appearances, during which he had a .188 batting average on balls in play.

The Mets are showing a good amount of faith in Benge by leaving a door open for him, even after he put up those rough numbers in Triple-A. If he doesn’t perform in the spring, they have a few fallback options in addition to Taylor. Brett Baty no longer has a position after the Bo Bichette signing and could end up out in left field. Vidal Bruján and Jared Young are infielder/outfielders on the roster. Cristian Pache and Ji Hwan Bae are non-roster options. The Mets may add to that group but it may be more depth additions if they want Benge to still have a path.

As for Senga, he looked dominant in 2023 when he posted a 2.98 earned run average but hasn’t been as much of a sure thing since then. He missed most of 2024 due to injury. Last year, he struggled enough to get optioned to the minors in September. He then popped up in some trade rumors this offseason but is still on the roster. Assuming Stearns is being forthright in his recent comments, Senga will have a rotation job when the season begins.

As of now, the rotation candidates include Peralta, Nolan McLean, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and Senga. McLean still has options but it would be quite surprising if the Mets sent him down, given how he dominated in his first eight big league starts. If everyone stays healthy, then the Mets may need to run a six-man rotation or bump someone to the bullpen.

Holmes was a reliever prior to last year and could return to that role but he had a pretty good season as a starter, posting a 3.53 ERA. Manaea and Peterson have occasionally been bumped to long relief roles and could perhaps do so again. A six-man rotation would keep all the starters a bit more fresh but would leave the Mets with a seven-man bullpen, given the 13-pitcher roster limit.

This would only really be an issue for as long as everyone is healthy, which doesn’t happen very often in today’s game. If multiple injuries arise, Myers, Jonah Tong, Christian Scott and others are on the roster and should be ready to step up.

Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images

Mets’ Trade Talks With Padres Involve Nick Pivetta, Ramon Laureano, Mason Miller

By Mark Polishuk | December 13, 2025 at 2:24pm CDT

The Mets and Padres have been discussing the possibility of a trade that would send established talent to New York while San Diego obtained MLB-ready younger talent and some salary relief. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin, and Will Sammon, right-hander Nick Pivetta, outfielder Ramon Laureano, and star relievers Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada are players of interest for New York. The Padres have shown interest in the Mets’ “young major leaguers and all of their top prospects, both pitchers and position players,” including Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong.

The Athletic’s reporters made a point of noting that Francisco Lindor, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth weren’t brought up in these negotiations. This only somewhat lessens the blockbuster potential here given all of the high-profile names already under discussion, though it is also possible that the talks remain somewhat exploratory in nature. As Rosenthal/Lin/Sammon note, San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is always “weighing a dizzying number of possible moves and contingency plans,” and Mets PBO David Stearns is likewise no stranger to major trade concepts.

Pivetta’s name surfaced in trade rumors earlier this week, and Preller recently downplayed the idea that the Padres would trade any of their top bullpen arms. San Diego had an elite relief corps in 2025, but one major name from that group is already gone since closer Robert Suarez left for the Braves in free agency. The depleted nature of the Friars’ rotation also puts more pressure on the bullpen to pick up more of the run-prevention slack, and by that same token, makes it seemingly less likely that the Padres would trade Pivetta and further diminish the starting staff.

That said, Pivetta can opt out of his contract following the 2026 season. The backloaded four-year, $55MM contract Pivetta signed last season still has $51MM remaining, which breaks down as $19MM in 2026, a $14MM player option for 2027, and an $18MM player option for 2028 if Pivetta chooses to remain in San Diego next winter. The 2027 player option turns into a club option in the event of a long-term injury, but if Pivetta has the same kind of healthy and very effective season that he posted in 2025, he’ll surely trigger his opt-out.

If Preller could turn Pivetta into multiple controllable players who can still help the Padres win in 2026, that would be quite a way of threading the needle for the long-time executive. The Mets wouldn’t have much interest in giving up one of their top young talents for what might well be just one year of Pivetta’s services, and McLean might not be available at any price — the Athletic trio write that “McLean is thought to be untouchable, or close to it.” The New York Post’s Jon Heyman adds that outfield prospect Carson Benge is also considered to be virtually unavailable in trade talks.

By comparison, the likes of Tong, Sproat, and Jett Williams may be more available, though Stearns has been naturally hesitant about trading away any top minor leaguers. A trade package of Pivetta, Laureano as a short-term outfield add for 2026, and a reliever with four seasons of control like Miller or Estrada might well convince Stearns to part ways with some premium prospect talent, but on the other hand, that would be a lot for the Padres to move in a single trade.

The Athletic’s writers note that the Padres might get a greater overall return by sending Pivetta, Laureano, etc. elsewhere in individual deals, so it would take a gigantic trade package for the club to include multiple trade chips into a single swap. For Miller in particular, San Diego would want a ton back, given how much the Padres had to give up to land the closer from the A’s just last July.

Getting Pivetta’s salary off the books is one way for the Padres to shake up the roster given the team’s limited payroll flexibility, while short-term commitments to Pivetta and Laureano probably hold more appeal to Stearns than signing free agents to longer-term contracts. The sky is the limit when two creative executives like Preller and Stearns are cooking up trade scenarios, so this is certainly a situation worth monitoring as the offseason progresses.

Mets Interested In Cody Bellinger

By Darragh McDonald | November 12, 2025 at 12:42pm CDT

The Mets have interest in free agent Cody Bellinger, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman also downplays the possibility of the Dodgers making a strong run at free agent Edwin Díaz, which he suggests could be good for the Mets.

Bellinger would fit well with the Mets, given the current roster makeup. Center field was a big hole in 2025. Jose Siri spent most of the season on the injured list. He was outrighted off the roster in September and later became a free agent. Tyrone Taylor’s performance was lacking. The club tried to address the situation by acquiring Cedric Mullins at the deadline but he struggled to the end of the season and then became a free agent.

There is the possibility of an internal solution to the problem. Taylor is still on the roster. President of baseball operations David Stearns also tells Joel Sherman of The New York Post that Carson Benge will have a chance to make the team out of camp next year.

Benge was the club’s first-round pick, taken 19th overall, in the 2024 draft. In 2025, he hit his way through High-A and Double-A. In 416 plate appearances across those two levels, he drew a walk in 14.2% of them while only striking out at a 17.5% clip. He produced a .308/.413/.513 line and 174 wRC+. He got bumped up to Triple-A in mid-August. He slashed just .178/.272/.311 at that level but in a tiny sample of 103 plate appearances with a .188 batting average on balls in play.

Ideally, he would have some Triple-A success before cracking the majors but it seems the Mets aren’t dimming his stock based on that fluky end to a strong season. He played all three outfield spots but the Mets have Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo in the corners. If March rolls around and Benge is the best center field option, perhaps he will get the job. They likely can’t bank on that, however. Benge is still fairly inexperienced and won’t be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2027 season, so they don’t need to put him on the 40-man until he earns it.

Signing Bellinger would give them a strong Plan A. Bellinger hasn’t been an everyday center fielder for a few years but the plan would presumably be for him to move off that position whenever Benge forces the issue. Even if that doesn’t happen by Opening Day 2026, it could happen during the campaign. Bellinger could then move to a corner, with the designated hitter spot used in a rotation between himself, Soto and Nimmo. It’s also possible that Bellinger could end up at first base, depending on what happens with Pete Alonso.

Bellinger is heading to free agency for the third time but he should have far more earning power than in the first two trips. He was non-tendered by the Dodgers after 2022, his second straight dismal season on the heels of a shoulder injury. He secured a one-year, $17.5MM deal with the Cubs and bounced back with a strong season before heading to free agency for a second time. His market wasn’t strong, seemingly due to the memories of his poor 2021 and 2022 seasons still being fresh. He returned to the Cubs on a three-year, $80MM deal with opt-outs after each season.

His 2024 wasn’t quite as strong as his 2023 campaign, so he decided to skip his first opt-out chance. He was traded to the Yankees and then had a really strong performance in 2025. He hit 29 home runs, slashed .272/.334/.480 for a 125 wRC+ and got strong grades for his glovework, playing all three outfield spots and a bit of first. There were some flags under there, as he seemingly benefited from the short porch at Yankee Stadium. He had a 152 wRC+ at home and 97 on the road. Still, he made the easy decision to walk away from his $25MM salary in 2026, taking the $5MM buyout instead.

MLBTR predicted Bellinger to secure a five-year, $140MM deal this time. The Mets are one of the top-spending clubs in the league and could certainly make that happen if they wanted to, though Bellinger will have interest elsewhere, including from the Yankees.

At the end of the season, Stearns spoke of a desire to improve the Mets’ run prevention, per Tim Britton of The Athletic. Perhaps that would suggest Bellinger would be a better fit than bringing back Alonso, as the Polar Bear is not a great defender. Rostering both is theoretically possible but a bit clunky, as it closes off the possibility of Bellinger moving to first once Benge takes over center.

Turning to Díaz, he is the top reliever available this winter. The last time he was headed to free agency, the Mets signed him before he got there. It was a five-year, $102MM pact with an opt-out after three seasons. A major knee injury wiped out 2023 for Díaz but he bounced back in the two subsequent seasons. He just posted a 1.63 earned run average. His 38% strikeout rate wasn’t quite as gaudy as his 50% mark in 2022 but it was still very good. He triggered his opt out and is now a free agent for the first time.

Any club would be interested in adding him but he’s likely going to command another hefty deal. That puts clubs like the Dodgers in play, though Heyman’s suggestion that they aren’t likely to be aggressive with Díaz could help the Mets. That doesn’t mean he will be cheap, however. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Díaz is looking to get roughly the same deal he got last time.

That’s a bit of a tall ask. Díaz is still quite good but he’s turning 32 in March. As mentioned, his strikeout rate is still very strong but not quite as insane as it was a few years ago. MLBTR predicted him for $82MM over four years this time, roughly the same average annual value as his last deal but on a shorter term since he’s now three years older. Time will tell if he can match his previous pact but it should be a notable deal either way.

The Mets issued him a qualifying offer, which he will decline. The Mets presumably want to bring Díaz back but Stearns has generally opted for shorter-term commitments to pitchers since he took over the front office. If he lets Díaz sign elsewhere, it would hurt the bullpen but the Mets would receive a compensatory draft pick.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images

Mets Notes: Tong, Duran, Siri

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2025 at 1:32pm CDT

There is some feeling within the Mets organization that right-handed pitching prospect Jonah Tong could make his MLB debut before the 2025 season is up, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Tong only just made his debut with Triple-A Syracuse on August 16 and hadn’t been projected as “a consideration for the Major League roster this year,” Puma writes, but “that stance has changed in recent days.”

The shift is due to both the Mets’ rotation needs, and Tong’s continued excellence in his third pro season. A seventh-round pick for New York in the 2022 draft, Tong has emerged as a top-100 prospect — Baseball America has the right-hander 42nd on their midseason top 100 list, and MLB Pipeline has Tong in their 44nd spot. It is easy to see why, as Tong has an absurd 1.43 ERA and 40.5% strikeout rate over 113 2/3 combined innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. That includes 11 2/3 scoreless innings during his brief time in Syracuse.

Naturally there’s some risk in bringing the 22-year-old up to the Show in such relatively rapid fashion, and Tong’s 10.6% walk rate stands out as a potential weakness to be exploited by big league hitters. That said, Tong’s unusual delivery could also leave some hitters baffled, not to mention his plus fastball that has a ton of break if relatively little velocity (in the 91-94mph range).

Promoting Tong doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be in the majors for the rest of the season, of course, as the Mets could potentially use him for a spot start during a crowded stretch of the schedule. New York is six games into a stretch of 26 games in 27 days, with September 4 as the only off-day during that stretch. This puts even more pressure on a rotation that hasn’t provided much in the way of length or results lately, and the Mets already turned to another rookie in Nolan McLean to take Frankie Montas’ rotation spot earlier this month.

At this point it wouldn’t be a shock to see McLean, Tong, and another top prospect in Brandon Sproat all get onto the mound before the Mets’ season is over. This need for help from the farm (in addition to any club’s natural reticence about moving top prospects) may have been a reason why the Amazins didn’t make much progress in trade talks with the Twins about Jhoan Duran.

The Mets were loosely linked to Duran’s market just prior to the trade deadline, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that the Mets weren’t willing to move any of McLean, Tong, Sproat, Jett Williams, or Carson Benge. This quintet are the consensus top prospects within New York’s farm system, and Baseball America has all five players within their league-wide top-100 prospects list. Minnesota was known to be seeking at least one top-100 type for Duran’s services, and found such an offer from another NL East club in the Phillies, who landed Duran for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel.

Duran has looked excellent in Philadelphia, while the Mets have gotten mixed result from their deadline bullpen acquisitions. Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto have both pitched well since coming to Queens, but Ryan Helsley has struggled badly. Shaky pitching on both the bullpen and rotation has contributed to the Mets’ 7-13 record in August, and the Phillies have pulled out to a six-game lead over New York in the NL East.

In other Mets news, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) on Wednesday that Jose Siri is expected to start a minor league rehab assignment this week. Siri fractured his left tibia after fouling a ball off his leg back in April, and what was expected to be an absence of 8-10 weeks has now lasted well over four months. Since he played in only 10 games with the Mets before the injury, Siri figures to need at least a week of minor league action to get fully ramped up for a return to the active roster.

This makes him a candidate for an IL activation once rosters expand on September 1, though Siri will be returning to a more crowded outfield picture. New York went into the season planning to use Siri and Tyrone Taylor in a center field timeshare, but the deadline acquisition of Cedric Mullins has now created a more traditional lefty-righty platoon up the middle with Taylor. A player with Siri’s elite glove always has value on a roster, of course, so the Mets could use him as something of a defensive specialist if nothing else.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/25/24

By Anthony Franco | July 25, 2024 at 11:07pm CDT

Pre-draft rankings and scouting reports are provided by Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. A round-up of today’s draft signings for upwards of $2MM:

The Mets agreed to terms with 19th overall pick Carson Benge on a $3.9975MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (X link). That’s narrowly below the approximate $4.22MM slot value. Benge was generally regarded as a mid-late first round talent and ultimately landed there in the draft. He was a two-way player at Oklahoma State but is viewed as an outfield prospect in pro ball. A left-handed hitter, Benge draws praise from evaluators for his contact skills and power projection. He’s generally viewed as a right field prospect. McDaniel likens his profile to that of Orioles rookie outfielder Colton Cowser. Benge hit .335/.444/.665 with 18 homers and 24 doubles over 61 games as a draft-eligible sophomore.
Nationals second-round pick Luke Dickerson agreed to a $3.8MM deal, Callis reports (on X). That’s well above the $2.12MM value for the 44th overall pick. Callis notes that it’s the largest deal for a player selected after the supplemental round in the bonus pool era. The bonus aligns with what would be expected for a player drafted in the early 20s. That’s a bit of a surprise, as Dickerson rated as a late second-round talent on most pre-draft lists. The Nats are evidently higher on the righty-swinging middle infielder and were motivated to keep him from attending the University of Virginia. A New Jersey high schooler, he’s viewed as a hit-first infielder who probably projects to second base.
The Pirates announced the signing of competitive balance draftee Levi Sterling. Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports (X link) that the high school righty landed a $2.5114MM bonus to match the 37th pick’s slot value. A Texas commit, Sterling is a 6’5″ righty with advanced control. Law writes that his changeup is the headlining pitch in his arsenal. Sterling doesn’t throw especially hard right now but could add velocity given his frame. He’s regarded as a potential back-end starter.

2024 MLB Draft, First Round Results

By Mark Polishuk | July 14, 2024 at 11:29pm CDT

This year’s amateur draft is officially underway, and we’ll be updating this post throughout the night with every first-round selection. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

The first-round picks…

Cleveland Guardians: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
Cincinnati Reds: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
Colorado Rockies: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia
Oakland Athletics: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
Chicago White Sox: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
Kansas City Royals: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
St. Louis Cardinals: JJ Wetherholt, 2B/SS, West Virginia
Los Angeles Angels: Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee
Pittsburgh Pirates: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep High School (MS)
Washington Nationals: Seaver King, SS/3B/OF, Wake Forest
Detroit Tigers: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake High School (CA)
Boston Red Sox: Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M
San Francisco Giants: James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State
Chicago Cubs: Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State
Seattle Mariners: Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP/RHP, Mississippi State
Miami Marlins: PJ Morlando, OF, Summerville High School (SC)
Milwaukee Brewers: Braylon Payne, OF, Elkins High School (TX)
Tampa Bay Rays: Theo Gillen, OF/MI, Westlake High School (TX)
New York Mets: Carson Benge, OF, Oklahoma State
Toronto Blue Jays: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
Minnesota Twins: Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State
Baltimore Orioles: Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina
Los Angeles Dodgers: Kellon Lindsey, SS, Hardee High School (FL)
Atlanta Braves: Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguero High School (AZ)
San Diego Padres: Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City High School (OK)
New York Yankees: Ben Hess, RHP, Alabama
Philadelphia Phillies: Dante Nori, OF, Northville High School (MI)
Houston Astros: Walker Janek, C, Sam Houston
Arizona Diamondbacks: Slade Caldwell, OF, Valley View High School (AR)
Texas Rangers: Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford

All 30 teams will have picks in the first round this year, though the Mets, Padres, and Yankees all had their first-round selections dropped back by 10 slots. These three teams surpassed the third luxury tax tier ($273MM) in 2023, and thus their punishment included a 10-space drop in their opening draft choice.

The 2024 draft will take place over three days, consisting of 20 rounds of selections. Rounds 3-10 will take place on Monday, rounds 11-20 will take place on Tuesday, and the draft’s first 74 picks will come off the board tonight. Those 74 picks consist of the first two proper rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents), and two Prospect Promotion Incentive picks.

The two PPI selections will go to the Diamondbacks at 31st overall and the Orioles at 32nd overall, awarded since Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson fit all of the criteria for their teams to receive the bonus picks. Carroll and Henderson won Rookie of the Year honors, both young stars were included on their respective teams’ Opening Day rosters, and were rated as top-100 prospects in at least two of three sets of preseason prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN.

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