Mets Double-A roster includes a position change for prospect Carlos Cortes

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies begin their season in Double-A this week. The minor league affiliate of the New York Mets announced their roster on Twitter, sharing what will be the first group of men to take their crack at climbing up to Syracuse.

The roster isn’t flush with too many notable prospects. Third baseman Mark Vientos is probably the best.

One guy opening the year with them that I think everyone knows by now is Carlos Cortes. Formerly a second baseman, the Mets appear to be taking some action to see if maybe he can move forward at a new primary position.

Mets prospect Carlos Cortes already has outfield experience

This isn’t a brand new move for Cortes. In only a few games during the Australian League this winter, he played first base, second base, left field, and right field. He was primarily an outfielder in college, not moving to second base until 2018 when he was a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

With the expectation that second base will belong to Jeff McNeil for the foreseeable future, the Mets look like they are moving Cortes back to the position he played back when he was a Gamecock.

Cortes became a name Mets fans knew when he hit .392 with three home runs in Australia during MLB’s offseason. He was coming off a 2019 campaign featuring a .255 average and 11 home runs in St. Lucie.

This probably isn’t the end of Cortes’ time at second base—a spot he made 17 errors at back in 2019. As a young player, he becomes a whole lot more valuable with being able to play at a variety of places.

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Cortes may not have the same fast-track to the major leagues as a guy like Ronny Mauricio does. However, if he can continue hitting for some power and do it with a good batting average, he might become one of the next outfielders we see patrolling Citi Field.