Coming off of a disappointing 2025 season that saw them miss the playoffs entirely, the New York Mets made several bold decisions this offseason and are approaching opening day with a new-look roster. The latest example came on Monday, when manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that top prospect Carson Benge had made the team and would start in right field.
Now, however, the Mets are left with the question of how to properly employ outfielder Tyrone Taylor, who appeared in 113 games for the Mets last season.
In Spring Training this year, Benge posted a .366 batting average and an .874 OPS over 46 plate appearances. Already regarded as the #13 prospect in all of baseball (h/t MLB Pipeline), it seems that a successful spring was all that the Mets needed to be convinced. Mendoza officially announced on Monday that Benge "is the starting right fielder" (h/t Max Goodman, NJ.com).
The 23-year-old Benge was selected by the Mets out of Oklahoma State University with the 19th overall pick in the 2024 draft. After opening the 2025 season in High-A with the Brooklyn Cyclones, Benge skyrocketed through the minors and ended his season in Triple-A Syracuse, totaling a .281 batting average, 15 home runs, 73 RBI, 22 stolen bases and a .857 OPS across three levels.
Now, the left-handed hitter will occupy right field for the Mets, seemingly leaving Taylor without a clear role. There's been speculation that Taylor could be used in a platoon role, but Mendoza's language of "starting right fielder" suggests that the position is Benge's full-time.
In seven major league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and Mets, Taylor has demonstrated that he is more than capable of being a major league fourth outfielder. The 32-year-old right hander has been right around league-average at the plate over his career with a .706 OPS over 1,658 plate appearances.
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Taylor's true value comes on the defensive side, however. Over the last six seasons, Outs Above Average (OAA) statistics show that Taylor has been a positive contributor in the outfield (h/t Fangraphs) with the majority of his career appearances coming in center field.
When the Mets acquired right-handed hitting outfielder Luis Robert Jr., it became clear that Taylor's playing time would be limited. But the confirmation of Benge in right field makes it even more difficult to see what Taylor's role will be going forward.
Benge and Robert Jr. are both positive enough outfielders that it seems unlikely that Taylor would come in for either of them as a defensive replacement, and Juan Soto is too much of a offensive force at the plate to ever be removed early from a game.
So as it stands, Taylor's role will likely come in the form of occasional outfield starts when one of Soto, Robert Jr., or Benge needs a day off from the field. He can also be employed as a pinch runner given that he boasts an impressive 94th percentile sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant.
