NY Mets history tells us who they’d prefer to trade, Carson Benge or Jett Williams

Any major offseason trade package assembled thus far this offseason has seemed to include a choice for the other team. They can pick between Carson Benge or Jett Williams. The pair are fighting for big league time on the New York Mets roster to play in center field with Williams having the benefit of also having the middle infield on his resume. 

If the Mets had their choice, there’s a clear preference for who they’d rather keep. General managers are like dogs. They chase their tails, bury things in the backyard, and are extremely loyal. Through all of the front office shot callers we’ve seen with the Mets, one thing has remained consistent. They like to keep the players they drafted and move on from the ones they inherited.

Williams, who was drafted in 2022 by Billy Eppler, is traded away if this Mets history lesson continues under Stearns. Benge, whom Stearns took in the first round in 2024, remains with the organization.

David Stearns isn’t Brodie Van Wagenen or Billy Eppler, but this quality is something to keep in mind

Brodie Van Wagenen had no qualms about trading away players drafted by other GMs. Jarred Kelenic was his most famous victim. However, practically all of his selections would end up traded by his predecessors.

Brett Baty is the lone survivor from the 2019 draft to actually make it to the Mets. Often mentioned in trade rumors, other GMs either couldn’t find a taker or seemed to like the same stuff that had Van Wagenen taking him in the first round. Second-rounder Josh Wolf was traded before the 2021 season in the Francisco Lindor deal. Jake Mangum, a few years after going in round four, ended up dealt in a forgettable trade with the Miami Marlins. Look at him now. He’s playing well for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The short 6-player draft from 2020 has no players remaining within the Mets organization. Pete Crow-Armstrong, J.T. Ginn, and Eric Orze all made the majors and are with different clubs. Like Wolf, Isaiah Greene was used to acquire Lindor.

The theme continued on. Zack Scott’s 2021 draft had Carson Seymour going to the San Francisco Giants at the 2022 trade deadline in the infamous Darin Ruf trade. Mike Vasil and Dom Hamel aren’t with the Mets any longer. Stearns let Vasil go in the Rule 5 Draft last December. Hamel was a waiver claim. They’re a bit different. Both were given an extended look in Triple-A. However, the current POBO never seemed to believe in them all that much.

By this point, we’re caught up in Mets history. There wasn’t a chance for Eppler to trade away any of his draft picks because they gave away big league players in 2023. Stearns flipped the script by dealing away two 2024 selections in last summer’s deal for Ryan Helsley. Nate Dohm and Frank Ellisalt, taken in rounds 3 and 19, were used in that deal. Far different from the level of prospect Benge and Williams are, it does show he’s not stubborn enough to try to make things work if it means putting a halt to a trade.