PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Mendoza was speaking for the organization, but Mets fans will endorse his message.
“We are all excited to watch this kid play,” the manager said of Carson Benge, the team’s Opening Day right fielder.
Benge was informed Monday that he had won a roster spot and would be in right Thursday, when the curtain is raised at Citi Field and the Mets take on the Pirates.
Throughout the offseason, David Stearns repeated that Benge would enter spring with a chance to break camp with the major league team. Benge seized the opportunity, benefiting when veteran Mike Tauchman tore his meniscus.
He hit .366 with an .874 OPS, one triple, one double and a stolen base in 14 Grapefruit League games.
All the other work — 23 years of grinding to live out a dream that will become a reality in a couple of days — is harder to quantify.
“Joy over everything, I would say,” Benge said about his emotions in the minutes after receiving the news. “Just knowing that I’ve worked hard for it, the countless hours I spent, and all my family members and friends that have sacrificed some time for me.
“It’s all going to come true.”
Benge did not waste much time merely dreaming, getting the call after just one full professional season and 131 total minor league games. A 2024 first-round pick out of Oklahoma State — where he was teammates with Nolan McLean, who will start the third game of the season for the Mets — Benge rocketed through the system last year, when he demolished competition at High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton and touched Triple-A Syracuse to set himself up for the spring.
The Mets traded Brandon Nimmo this winter and did not replace him with a proven veteran in part to preserve a spot for Benge, who entered camp with some questions. He had soared through Single-A Brooklyn (.897 OPS) and Double-A Binghamton (.978 OPS) but had faltered, at least statistically (.583 OPS), in 24 games at Triple-A Syracuse.
A strong performance in the Grapefruit League in which he showed off a sweet, contact-heavy lefty swing (if not a power stroke yet) and strong defensive profile for a former college two-way player helped. His arm — which touched 96 mph on the mound in Stillwater — will be a force in the outfield.
Benge generally will play right field, but the Mets have said he can handle center on days Luis Robert Jr. takes a seat. The player development staff honed in on Benge’s defense, notably improving his first step and foot quickness, to make this flexibility possible.
Benge said his glove has taken the biggest strides of his game since being drafted.
“But across the board, I feel like I’ve gotten better in every aspect of the game,” said Benge, who seemed to impress everywhere, including away from the field.
Quiet but confident, Benge fit in with a veteran Mets group that wants to win now.
“Throughout camp, you could tell that with the way he was interacting and … the way he presented himself on the field and off the field,” Mendoza said. “You could tell right away that there’s something special about this guy.
“He earned it.”
Indeed, though his spot became essentially clinched Sunday, when Tauchman — an eight-year veteran in camp as a non-roster invitee and impressing — learned he would need knee surgery.
The first opportunity for Benge to demonstrate that he is ready and can handle major league pitching will come against Paul Skenes — “starting out with the best, it’s pretty cool,” Benge said.
If all goes well, there will be many, many more opportunities.
“It’s going to be surreal,” Benge said, envisioning what it will be like to run out to the outfield with Juan Soto and Robert for the season opener. “I’m going to try my best to take it in. Stay calm and play my game.”
