Carson Benge ‘absolutely’ wants to crack Opening Day roster, as Mets look at how he handles the spotlight

TAMPA — Mets fans weren’t the only ones waiting to keep an eye on Carson Benge on Sunday.

That also applied to Carlos Mendoza.

“I’m excited to see him play for the first time – other than on video,” the manager said before Benge made his Grapefruit League debut for the Mets in a 6-4 win over the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field.

There were no highlights from the 23-year-old, who started and led off in right field, but that’s not what the Mets are looking for.

After their 2024 first-round draft pick reached the minor league system last year — his first full season in professional baseball — expectations only increased when David Stearns, president of baseball operations, said in November that Benge is “going to come to spring training with an opportunity to make our team.”

And then Stearns’ actions backed that up, as Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers.

Luis Robert Jr. was acquired from the White Sox to play center, but a vacancy remains in right field – with Juan Soto in left – for Benge.

“At the end of the day, I’m going to try to be myself – and nothing else,” Benge said before the match. “And let things take their course.”

The left-handed Benge opened with a pair of rough at-bats against the Yankees’ right-hander Luis Gil before facing left-handed sidearmer Tim Hill.

For Benge, who has played just 131 games in the minors after two seasons at Oklahoma State as a two-way player, the argument could be made that he needs more experience before he’s ready for Queens.

Whether that can be accomplished in time for Opening Day remains to be seen, but the skills have impressed scouts, who almost universally believe Benge has a shot at success in the majors soon — if not by the end of March.

“It’s Day 1 and we want him to be himself, compete and play [his] game and try not to do too much,” Mendoza said.

And instead of focusing on the results, the manager pointed to “the quality of at-bats, the throwing away, the baserunning [and] defense.”

Benge struggled after his mid-August call-up to Triple-A Syracuse, enduring an 0-for-24 stretch before finishing the season on an improved note.

Still, it’s unusual for a player to jump to the Majors after just 24 games at Triple-A.

But his thoughts are focused on making the Opening Day roster.

“Absolutely,” Benge said. “I just want to come in here, do my best, be myself, and whatever happens, happens.”

And whatever happens, the spotlight will remain on Benge, and Mendoza will be watching to see how he deals with it.

“I like seeing how he handles adversity,” Mendoza said of the outfielder, who started last season at High-A Brooklyn. “He’s going to go through it. It’s always hard, especially when there’s so much. There can be a lot of noise – good or bad. It’s part of the process. You can have a great camp or you can go out there and it’s hard for you. But one thing we told him is that you have to control what you have control over and you have to let the people who make the decisions make the decisions.”

Benge said he is aware of the trust the organization places in him – and also knows that will only get him so far.

“It’s pretty cool,” Benge said. “No matter what happens, I’ll still try to be myself and play the game the way I’ve always played it.”