The Mets did not get the October finish they wanted, but a strong rookie wave has given the club a place in the awards conversation as the World Series gives way to Major League Baseball’s individual honors. Carson Benge is at the center of it, with both National League Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove recognition within reach after a late surge turned a crowded race into a real argument.
Benge appeared to be trailing Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart with roughly two weeks remaining in the regular season. Stewart had built a flashy offensive case with 32 home runs and a brief stay atop the league RBI leaderboard. But his closing stretch changed the shape of the vote: Stewart went 1-for-his-final-8 stretch at the plate, batting .121 without an extra-base hit.
Meanwhile, Benge caught fire. Across his final nine games, the Mets right fielder hit .472, producing three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and a 1.259 OPS. His full rookie line included 20 home runs, 22 steals and a .776 OPS, only 11 points shy of Stewart’s mark. Benge also finished with more than twice Stewart’s WAR, giving his overall body of work weight beyond the traditional offensive totals.
The glove may make the difference. Benge’s throwing arm rated first in the Majors in Statcast’s Arm Value measurement, and he paired that arm strength with polished work in right field. That puts him in the mix for an NL Gold Glove as well as the rookie award, where Stewart, St. Louis infielder JJ Wetherholt and other contenders remain part of the picture.
A pair of rookies with gloves to match
Nolan McLean is unlikely to leapfrog Benge or Stewart in the Rookie of the Year race, but the Mets pitcher has made a compelling case to land among the National League’s top three rookies. More importantly, he has a chance to leave awards season with a Gold Glove.
McLean’s defensive polish is hardly accidental. Before concentrating on pitching, he was a two-way player at Oklahoma State and worked at six positions in college. The transition to everyday mound duty has been smooth, including the fielding responsibilities that come with it. Defensive Runs Saved placed McLean fifth among Major League pitchers, behind Brent Suter, Michael McGreevy, Tanner Bibee and Shota Imanaga.
His impact also showed up in the running game. With a quick move toward the plate and a sharp pickoff play, McLean gave opponents little encouragement to test him. Runners attempted only eight steals against him all season. He is one of three National League pitching finalists, joined by McGreevy and Chris Sale, the 2024 winner.
A.J. Ewing rounds out the Mets’ Rookie of the Year possibilities. Benge’s complete season makes him the club’s leading candidate, but Ewing’s first year still deserves notice on ballots farther down the order. His 25 stolen bases established a Mets rookie record, a fitting marker for a player who brought speed and energy to the lineup.
Behind the plate, Luis Torrens has an uphill climb because he did not serve as the full-time catcher. Working behind Francisco Alvarez, however, Torrens delivered the kind of defensive work that has kept him respected around the game. He erased 17 of 44 runners trying to steal and ranked in at least the 85th percentile in Statcast’s blocking, framing and pop-time categories.
Torrens has built a reputation as one of baseball’s most reliable defensive catchers even without a starter’s workload, and that performance has made him a Gold Glove finalist. For a Mets club left outside the postseason, the coming announcements offer a final chance to recognize a rookie class and a collection of defenders that supplied plenty of bright spots.
The Gold Glove winners are scheduled to be revealed on Nov. 1, with Rookie of the Year honors set for Nov. 9.
