Intentions for the 26th man on the NY Mets bench are pretty clear despite competition

The competition for the 26th man off of the New York Mets bench isn’t anything unique, proprietary, or unusual. It’s kind of the way it should be when you plan to use your farm system and remain flexible throughout the year.

They’ve made it no secret. There are a lot of guys at Mets spring training who’ll compete for jobs. Carson Benge has an opportunity to seize a starting right field gig. A whole bunch of guys are trying to make themselves a credible solution at shortstop as a just in case with Francisco Lindor’s status up in the air.

We know the team plans to have a bench of Tyrone Taylor and Luis Torrens plus two more. With Benge on the team, Brett Baty or Mark Vientos end up sitting. This leaves them with one more roster spot that, as important as it can be, is nothing permanent.

The Mets are guaranteeing themselves they’ll start the year with a bench player they have no plans of keeping for all that long

Vidal Brujan can crack the Mets roster regardless of whether or not Lindor is healthy. Players like him are disposable placeholders until someone younger or better comes along. His purpose, of providing the Mets with a little bit of speed and defensive versatility, should have him playing a handful of games each week, rarely hitting and often playing just an inning per appearance.

The Mets are actually well-equipped to carry a player like this because of the way the rest of the roster can look. There are a minimum amount of pinch hitting opportunities anyone would ever get. One of Baty, Vientos, and Jorge Polanco is likely to sit each game. There shouldn’t be a weak hitter in any of the nine lineup spots. Baty can pinch hit for Vientos and vice versa. Other than that, it’s only when players like Taylor start a game when we’d see anyone come off the bench.

A backup catcher, an outfield glove, a right-handed or left-handed hitter, and a utility guy is a simple way to build a bench. It’s the trend the Mets are headed toward. In past years under David Stearns, they’ve regularly filled out the team with these limited types of players. Zack Short is the best example from 2024, even more so than Joey Wendle. In the latter part of the season, we saw Pablo Reyes and Eddy Alvarez join the club in limited roles.

These types have been a common occurrence on the Mets roster. Luisangel Acuna was a more advanced version with thoughts Donovan Walton could make the 2025 roster over him last spring. Acuna was at one point demoted for Travis Jankowski, another one of those easy-to-move-on-from players who offer you a little defense, some speed, and maybe a sacrifice bunt if they can actually get it down. Acuna was recalled soon after with Jankowski getting DFA’d.

We know the Mets Opening Day roster is going to be different from the way they finish it. Intentionally, the Mets will have a position player they’ll be ready to move on from rather quickly.

Candidates to be the 26th man off the bench at any point in 2026:

Christian Arroyo INF - 0 options remaining
Ji Hwan Bae INF/OF - 1 option remaining
Vidal Brujan INF/OF - 0 options remaining (40-man roster)
Jackson Cluff INF - 3 options remaining
Grae Kessinger INF - 1 option remaining
Ronny Mauricio INF - 1 option remaining (40-man roster)
MJ Melendez OF - 1 option remaining (40-man roster)
Nick Morabito OF - 3 options remaining (40-man roster)
Jose Ramos OF - 3 options remaining
Jose Rojas INF/OF - 1 option remaining
Christian Pache OF - 0 options remaining
Mike Tauchman OF - 0 options remaining
Jared Young - INF/OF - 1 option remaining (40-man roster)