The Mets’ No. 1 prospect is on the move again, and this time the destination is Triple-A Syracuse.
Infielder Jefferson Rojas has been promoted after ripping through Double-A since the Mets picked him up from the Cubs in the Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor deal ahead of last month’s trade deadline. The 21-year-old was batting .280 with a .929 OPS and nine home runs in 29 games for Binghamton when the call came. On the full Double-A season, including his first-half work with Chicago’s affiliate, he’s at .272 with a .833 OPS and 24 homers in 120 games.
There isn’t much runway left for him in Syracuse. The club has only one six-game series remaining in the regular season, so this is likely more of a brief stop than a long-term assignment.
Even so, Rojas’ fast rise keeps him in the conversation for the Mets’ big-league future sooner rather than later. The organization has already seen Carson Benge and A.J.
Ewing move quickly through Triple-A, and Rojas could be next in that line.
Benge logged 24 games with Syracuse late last season before breaking camp with the big-league club this spring. Ewing spent just 12 games there after starting this year in Double-A before making his Mets debut in May. Rojas now gets a small taste of that level, and his game gives the Mets plenty to like.
Rachel Folden, who coached Rojas in Double-A and also knows him from her time in the Cubs’ minor-league system, described a player with a steady presence and a sharp work ethic.
“He has a really quiet but very focused demeanor about him,” Folden told NJ.com last month in Binghamton. “There’s attention to detail about him.
He wants to be great. He’s never going to be the most vocal guy on the team, but he is a quiet leader in the way that he goes about his business.
He’s come a long way since the skinny kid that I saw three years ago who skipped rookie ball.”
Folden also pointed to the power jump Rojas has made this season, his fifth in pro ball. He’s long been difficult to get out, with a knack for squaring up baseballs, but this year has brought more lift and more damage in the gaps. Mets director of hitting Kevin Mahala sees the same growth.
“His floor is so high because he does a lot of things really well, all the things that you want to see in hitters,” Mahala said. “He controls the strike zone, makes a lot of contact, he can hit for contact, hit for power and he’s just a very well-rounded offensive player.”
Mahala said Rojas’ bat speed has improved “pretty significantly” over time, helped by a mix of intent, mechanical efficiency and bat-speed training, along with added strength as he continues to develop physically. The key, he explained, is raising the power without losing the traits that already make Rojas such a polished hitter.
“If you’re raising your bat speed ceiling and then you’re keeping your in-game intent the same,” Mahala said, “oftentimes you can maintain your contact skills, maintain your plate discipline and then the exit velocity numbers increase.”
The move to Syracuse also adds another layer to the Mets’ infield picture for next year. If Bo Bichette opts out and leaves in free agency, Rojas could be in line for third base once he’s ready. He has spent most of his minor-league career at shortstop, but since joining the Mets this summer, he has played third base more than any other position.
His ability to handle third, shortstop and second base gives him a path to playing time no matter how the rest of the infield shakes out. If Bichette stays, Rojas could still push Marcus Semien for time at second base early next season.
Semien is owed $46 million over the next two years, though his play has not been good enough to guarantee him an untouched role in 2027. Brett Baty is another name who could see more work at second when next season starts.
There’s more depth coming behind Rojas, too. Émilien Pitre, another deadline addition from the Rays in the Freddy Peralta trade, is already in Triple-A and brings an elite hit tool and strong on-base ability.
Mitch Voit is in the mix as well. The Mets’ first-round pick last summer was named the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year on Sunday after hitting .347 with a .947 OPS in 29 Double-A games following a four-month stint in High-A Brooklyn.
He could have been a candidate for a late-season Triple-A promotion, too.
For the Mets, that kind of crowd in one part of the system is a good problem to have. It gives them options, whether that means sorting out roles internally or using a prospect surplus to fill another need at the big-league level.
Folden, for one, would happily keep Rojas in the organization for the long haul. She even remembered calling the Cubs’ hitting coordinator just to brag when the Mets landed him at the deadline.
In Other News...
Mets Deadline Haul Could Answer Several Roster Questions Faster Than Expected
The trade deadline brought the Mets a wave of prospects who could shape the roster sooner than some August pickups ever do. Jefferson Rojas, Sammy Stafura, Emilien Pitre, Gabe Davis, Luke Gabrysh, Billy Amick, Gary Gill Hill and Aidan Smith all landed in the system, giving the organization a wider mix of infielders, arms and potential long-term answers than it had before the deals. For a club trying to keep one eye on the present and another on the next core, that kind of influx matters because it can shorten the distance between problem and solution.
Billy Amick is one of the names that stands out most because of how he fits a need the Mets have been circling for a while, and the broader group from the Freddy Peralta trade could end up moving faster than expected as well. The real intrigue now is how many of these newcomers push themselves into big-league conversation by the time the organization starts sorting out its next wave of roster decisions, with 2027 already looking like a key checkpoint for some of them. [Read more 🡒]
Bo Bichette Gives Mets Fans A Huge Offseason Decision To Watch
Bo Bichette already has a significant offseason choice lined up, and it lands right in the middle of a Mets future that figures to be watched closely. The shortstop has a player option worth $42 million for the 2027 season with New York, giving him a built-in crossroads after the 2026 campaign and a potential path either to stay put or test the open market.
Bichette plans to make his decision in October after that season, with a deadline set five days after the World Series. Because the Mets are not in the postseason this year, the calendar only gives him more breathing room to weigh the option against free agency, and it leaves fans with another front-burner storyline to track as the offseason approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Winter Plan After Bo Bichette Could Spark A Big Debate
The Mets have a cleaner offseason picture this winter than they did a year ago, but that does not mean the roster-building decisions are simple. With fewer major free agents to replace, the front office can spend more time thinking through fit, balance and where the biggest upgrades might come from, including whether Bo Bichette belongs in the conversation as part of the clubs winter plan.
From there, the debate gets interesting. A roster blueprint built around pitchers Tarik Skubal and Adrian Morejon, infielder Luis Arraez and a trade to move a bad contract for a right-handed first baseman would address several needs at once, but it also asks the Mets to make some hard choices about resources and roles. However the winter unfolds, the bigger question is how aggressively the club wants to reshape the lineup while leaving enough flexibility to keep the rest of the roster in order. [Read more 🡒]