A new report would seem to seriously diminish the chances that the New York Mets make a big free agent or trade addition to address issues in the starting rotation and center field.
This has not been the offseason NY Mets fans expected. After their historic September collapse, change was expected. However, no one thought it would mean core players Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil would depart in free agency and trades.
In response, the team added Devin Williams, Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Luke Weaver. Good players, no doubt, but not the big moves the fanbase wanted. Despite those additions, they still have glaring needs.
Late in the season, their starting staff let them down, and it is why they rushed star prospects Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat to the big leagues earlier than expected. Plus, their deadline trade for Cedric Mullins was a disaster, and they still need to find a long-term answer in center field.
The hope has been that those issues would be addressed with signings or trades for players like Framber Valdez or Byron Buxton. However, that is unlikely according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. The MLB insider claims the front office is high on their internal fixes. Specifically, veteran Sean Manaea and star prospect Carson Benge.
NY Mets Very High on Sean Manaea and Carson Benge in 2026
He reports that the NY Mets decision makers believe they rushed Manaea back from his oblique injury and that it was a major reason for a very down season last year. Furthermore, they “saw underlying results” that make them believe he can have a big bounce-back season in 2026 if healthy.
The 10-year veteran had a breakthrough campaign in 2024 as he went 12-6 and pitched to a 3.47 ERA. It’s why he landed a new three-year, $75 million deal from the club a year ago.
As for centerfield, while the team has been linked to a potential trade for Luis Robert Jr. for the last year, Sherman claims the organization fully believes Benge will be their starting CF this year after a mostly impressive 2025 in the minors.
“Benge climbed three levels last year, spending the last month at Triple-A, where his final 12 games provided quite a dichotomy — 0-for-21 with eight strikeouts in five games followed by a season-closing 8-for-24 with four extra-base hits, including two homers and just two whiffs,” Sherman wrote.
Benge is the second-ranked player in the NY Mets system by MLB.com, and 21st overall in the league.
