TAMPA — Mets fans weren’t the only ones waiting to get their eyes on Carson Benge on Sunday.
So was Carlos Mendoza.
“I’m excited to watch him play for the first time — other than on video,” the manager said before Benge made his Grapefruit League debut for the Mets in a 6-4 win over the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field.
There were no highlights from the 23-year-old, who started in right field and led off, but that’s not what the Mets are looking for.
After their 2024 first-round draft pick shot up the minor league system last year — his first full season in professional baseball— expectations were only heightened when president of baseball operations David Stearns said in November that Benge “is going to come into spring training with a chance to make our team.”
And then Stearns’ actions backed that up, as Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers.
Luis Robert Jr. was acquired from the White Sox to play center, but there remains a vacancy in right field — now that Juan Soto is in left — for Benge.
“At the end of the day, I’m gonna try and be me — and nothing else,” Benge said before the game. “And let things work out for themselves.”
The lefty-swinging Benge opened with a pair of rough at-bats against Yankees right-hander Luis Gil before facing left-handed sidearmer Tim Hill.
For Benge, who’s played just 131 games in the minors after two seasons at Oklahoma State as a two-way player, the argument could be made that he needs more experience before he’s ready for Queens.
Whether that can be accomplished in time for Opening Day remains to be seen, but the skill set has impressed scouts, who nearly universally believe Benge has a shot at success in the majors soon — if not by the end of March.
“It’s Day 1 and we want him to be himself, compete, play [his] game and don’t try to do too much,” Mendoza said.
And instead of focusing on results, the manager pointed to “quality of at-bats, laying off pitches, baserunning [and] defense.”
Benge struggled for stretches after his mid-August call-up to Triple-A Syracuse and endured an 0-for-24 stretch before finishing the season better.
Still, it’s unusual for a player to jump to the majors after just 24 games at Triple-A.
But his mind is on making the Opening Day roster.
“Definitely,” Benge said. “I want to come in here, do my best, be myself, and whatever happens, happens.”
And whatever happens, the spotlight will remain on Benge, and Mendoza will be watching to see how he handles it.
“I like to see how he handles adversity,” Mendoza said of the outfielder, who began last season at High-A Brooklyn. “He’s gonna go through it. It’s always tough, especially when there’s so much out there. There could be a lot of noise — good or bad. It’s part of the process. You could have a great camp or you could go out there and it’s hard for you. But one thing we told him is to control what you control and let the people that make the decisions make the decisions.”
Benge said he’s aware of the organization’s stated confidence in him — and also knows that will only get him so far.
“It’s pretty cool,” Benge said. “No matter what, I’ll still try to be myself and play the game like I’ve always played it.”
