The Mets’ 2026 season has been a mess, but Carson Benge is giving them something real to hang onto.
While New York has spent much of the year fighting through a nightmare campaign, a few bright spots have popped up along the way. The trade returns at the deadline haven’t been a disaster, and the young group has delivered some juice.
Nolan McLean, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have all flashed, with Benge now drawing a fresh update in the National League Rookie of the Year race.
ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle said Benge has pushed himself into the conversation, even if St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt still sits in front.
“Since the last Awards Watch, the hottest NL rookie has been Benge, who has been doing it in every facet and for an increasingly hot ballclub,” Doolittle writes. “Since the All-Star break, he has hit .319/.369/.504 while playing outstanding defense and sparking the club with his energy.”
That post-break surge has put Benge firmly on the radar. His .870 OPS since the All-Star break, paired with strong outfield defense, has turned him into a legitimate candidate.
Wetherholt remains the favorite, though. Doolittle’s AXE metric has Wetherholt at 131.7 and Benge at 116.3, a gap that still leaves the Mets rookie chasing.
Even so, the door is open a little wider than it was before the break. Wetherholt has slipped to a .203 average with a .323 on-base percentage and .321 slugging percentage since the All-Star break, which has made the race more interesting.
Doolittle summed up the shifting picture this way: “If his recent trajectory remains steady, and Wetherholt doesn't improve at the plate, we could see a heated debate for this award a month from now.”
For the season, Benge has put together a strong all-around line: .278 batting average, 16 homers, 53 RBIs, a .765 OPS, 3.1 WAR, 19 stolen bases, 37 walks, three triples, 17 doubles and 131 hits, along with the kind of outfield defense that keeps showing up in this conversation.
The award race may still belong to Wetherholt for now, but Benge has clearly forced his way into it. And for a Mets team that’s had too few reasons to smile, that matters.
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