NY Mets’ Carson Benge backup plan should include player stolen from Yankees

One way or another, it looks like Carson Benge will be making his way onto the New York Mets roster. The question is when. The club's No. 2 overall prospect is highly anticipated, and with a strong spring training, could sneak onto the opening day roster as the starting left fielder.

There's some risk, though. Benge has only logged 24 games at Syracuse, and struggled to the tune of a .178/.272/.311 line. Even if the youngster impresses in the spring, we could find that with prolonged exposure, he might need to be sent back down for more seasoning.

That's not uncommon, even with top prospects. Chicago Cubs' top prospect Matt Shaw struggled after making the opening day roster last season and got sent down to Triple-A on April 15. Shaw would later return, and in the second half, he thrived, posting an .839 OPS down the stretch. We could see something similar with Benge.

The Mets are already hedging by preparing Brett Baty to get left field reps. The blocked third baseman is one potential alternative, but with run prevention being a prime focus, there's no guarantee he can gain the comfort necessary to play the position at the level the Mets would like.

That leads to an under-the-radar theft from the New York Yankees, looking like a potential contingency plan in the form of outfielder Jose Rojas.

The Mets stole Jose Rojas from the Yankees, and now he could be a sneaky Carson Benge backup plan

It was easy to miss the Rojas signing. The 33-year-old outfielder agreed to a minor league deal with the Mets on November 10, just as the offseason was getting underway.

By virtue of only playing 83 career big league games, and none since 2022, Rojas is understandably much lower profile than other Yankees defectors like Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

The long-time minor league journeyman is a shot in the dark. He spent the first several years of his career with the Los Angeles Angels, being drafted by the club in the 36th round back in 2016, and making his big league debut in 2021.

That season, Rojas hit just .208/.277/.399 in 61 games. He'd get into 22 more contests the following year, but posted a putrid .125/.140/.161 line. That was the catalyst to his baseball odyssey beginning, logging a brief stint in the San Francisco Giants' minor league system to close out 2022, before making his way to Korea in 2023.

In the KBO, Rojas found some modest success with 19 homers and an .819 OPS. That would land him with the Yankees in 2024. The Yankees would cut and re-sign Rojas several times that season, even losing him for a brief stretch to the Pittsburgh Pirates before signing him back after another release.

In 82 Triple-A games between the two organizations, he slashed .243/.346/.536 with an impressive 13.6% walk rate and some real power, posting a .293 ISO.

He was back with the Yankees down in Triple-A in 2025, and put together a ridiculous .287/.379/.599 line with 32 homers and 15 steals, posting another stellar 12.6% walk rate and a solid 20.9% strikeout rate in the process.

That performance clearly got the Mets' attention. The power and plate discipline are enticing and worth a long look in spring training. The Mets sent Rojas an invitation, so we'll get to see what he can do real soon.

The chances of this working out are slim, but it's a stone worth turning over. Rojas's 2024 and especially his 2025, were unlike anything he had produced at the minor league level previously, so perhaps something clicked from his time in Korea, and now he just needs an opportunity.

At the end of the day, considering all options and coming up with backup plans in case a young prospect falters is never a bad idea, and in Rojas, the Mets have a pretty interesting one, even if he is a long shot.