The Syracuse Mets didn’t get the playoff berth they were chasing, but the final stretch still gave the organization plenty to like. They closed the year by winning 29 of their last 40 games, and that run was fueled in part by a late arrival who wasted almost no time making noise.
Jefferson Rojas, the club’s top prospect, got a last-minute bump to Triple-A after Double-A Binghamton wrapped up its season. In just six games and 29 plate appearances, he hit .308/.345/.692 with a 151 wRC+, three homers, seven RBIs and a stolen base. The strikeout rate is still a talking point - he fanned in more than a quarter of his trips - but the production was loud enough to turn heads fast.
That kind of late-season surge is exactly why Rojas is suddenly in the conversation for a much bigger leap. His path is drawing comparisons to Carson Benge, who was pushed to Triple-A late last season and didn’t light the level on fire, hitting .178/.272/.311 in 24 games. Even so, the rise from High-A to Triple-A in his first full pro season put him firmly on the big-league radar, and he eventually turned that into an Opening Day roster spot with the Mets.
Benge has backed up that momentum in the majors, too. In his rookie year, he’s posted a 112 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR while sitting on the edge of a 20-20 season.
Rojas isn’t being sold as an exact replay of that path, but the idea is easy to see. He’s the organization’s top prospect for a reason, and his age-21 season has already produced 27 homers, 21 steals and an .843 OPS. Add in the defensive value he brings, and there’s at least a case that he could be ready for a major role if the Mets need help at third base next year, especially if Bo Bichette opts out of his contract and reaches free agency.
The roster picture also comes with some unusual wrinkles. Rojas is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, and if the Mets add him to the 40-man roster, he wouldn’t be eligible to play during next year’s minor-league season while the big leagues are shut down. Under a normal offseason, the Mets would protect him without much debate, but the possibility that the Rule 5 draft is canceled this year changes the calculus.
That could leave the Mets with a strange but workable setup, with Rojas on the Opening Day rosters in both Syracuse and New York and playing Triple-A ball until the majors get underway again. It could also push the team to move sooner and lock him onto the 40-man roster without delay.
Either way, the direction seems clear. Rojas is headed for the 40-man roster at some point soon, and once he gets there, the only real question left is whether the Mets think he’s ready for the jump.
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