Carson Benge (wrist) returns to lineup on Sunday

No surprise after Benge suffered a left wrist injury on a collision with the left-field wall while making a sliding catch during Friday’s contest. The positive news for the Mets, and fantasy managers, is that initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures, and the Mets are currently calling it a bone bruise. It sounds like he could be back by the middle of next week. It’ll be fellow rookie A.J. Ewing taking over in left field with Luis Robert Jr. patrolling center field and Brett Baty in the opposite corner.

Mets’ fans and fantasy managers can now breathe a sigh of relief. Benge suffered the injury as he crashed into the outfield wall while making a sliding catch during Thursday’s battle against the Pirates. He’s considered day-to-day and should return to action before the weekend is through.

Benge sustained the injury when he crashed into the outfield wall in the left field corner while making a terrific sliding catch in the third inning. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like anything that’s going to lead to an extended absence. He’s considered day-to-day.

There haven’t been many silver linings during this catastrophic season for the Mets, but Benge’s strong play as a rookie certainly is one. Three more hits here brought his average up to .266 and that came with a 2-for-33 stretch to begin his career. On top of that, his 11 homers and 17 stolen bases are a nice one-two punch. While he doesn’t have a standout tool, there’s no holes in his game and he looks like a player that should be a five category producer for years to come.

Benge smacked a two-out single in the eighth inning, swiped second base and scored on Luis Robert’s go-ahead two-run single that proved to be the difference in the contest. The 23-year-old rookie outfielder has been a bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for the Mets, slashing .261/.324/.391 with 11 homers, 41 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

Benge takes a seat with Tyrone Taylor in left field and fellow rookie A.J. Ewing in the opposite corner. The 23-year-old has hit a bit of a rough patch since the All-Star break, hitting .200 (6-for-30) with one extra-base hit and 10 strikeouts during that eight-game span.

Robert Jr. has been on the injured list with a lumbar spine disk herniation since late April. He’s played in 24 games for the Mets, slashing .224/.327/.329 with two home runs and two steals. The Mets will likely trey to get Robert Jr. in the lineup often over the next two weeks to help facilitate a trade. That could cost A.J. Ewing at bats in the short-term or, perhaps more likely, one of the extra outfielders could slide to DH with Jorge Polanco heading to the bench.

Benge continues his solid rookie season. He came into today hitting .302/.362/.444 over his last 15 games with two home runs and seven runs scored. He’s now up to 13 steals on the year and has been one of the few bright spots for the Mets this season.

Benge’s first hit, which opened the scoring in the first, was the most Little League of Little League home runs. Seth Lugo handled the grounder to the right of the mound but then threw wildly past first, after which first baseman Jac Caglianone threw wildly past third and third baseman Nick Loftin threw wildly past home, allowing two baserunners and Benge to all score. They should have just ended the game right then, but the Royals shook off probably the most embarrassing sequence of the 2026 season and ended up winning 16-12.

Benge keeps on hitting. He smacked his home run over 400 feet to the opposite field and it was one of three hard-hit balls he had on the day. That was also his 10th home run to go along with 11 stolen bases and a .259 batting average, which is sensational considering the fact that he was barely even hitting his weight through the first month of the season. Over the last 30 days, he has a .286/.333/.516 slash line with seven home runs as one of the best kept secrets in fantasy baseball because of much that first month is weight down his season-long stat line.