Why in the world would Tauchman take over late in games over Benge? That makes zero sense when Benge is clearly a much better rocket arm and has speed in spades plus his youth over Tauchman. A defensive replacement would be Tauchman starting and Benge taking over for him late in games. Benge makes this team and should be given runway to solidify himself as a big leaguer. Tauchman can play some first base plus DH too. He knows his role as a bench player but the idea of him taking over as a defensive replacement late in games isn’t anything near the realm of possibilities if knowledge of baseball is what we are trying to achieve here. I believe Taylor will be on a short leash because Pache had a great ST too. MJ killed his chances by sitting on PR’s WBC bench as he was killing the ball too. The only reason Taylor goes north is his better MlB history right now over a chance Pache has figured it out. If Taylor goes back to his .180 avg. he won’t be here long and Melendez or Pache will get called up. Vientos needs to be elsewhere and will be traded asap imo. Mauricio needs to play every day and we see what he can do given that opportunity. Baty will be the regular first baseman and I really believe he will give .280 plus 20/25hr. 90 RBI. I think he comps as an Olerud. Watch. He has figured it out and the second half last year was him doing what he will be going forward.
Hi James, I don't disagree, but the whole point of the piece was to put every single possibility on the table, even those that seem less likely of happening.
Not only does it not make sense to speak of Tauchman as a defensive replacement for Benge, it doesn't make sense to speak of Taylor as a defensive replacement for Luis Robert. Robert is universally described as a top notch center fielder. (Resting Robert every fourth game and starting Taylor or Tauchman is more like it). I'm coming around to your evaluation of Vientos, it's a shame but they'll get very little for him, similarly to McNeil. Agree with you about Baty.
I agree and the fact that Tauchman is also a lefty means he can’t even platoon with Benge. I think we end up letting him walk to find a better opportunity. Pache is righty and has been mashing. I’d keep him at least to start the season.
They invite him to camp. He does everything they could've hoped he would do. He's also got a track record. Makes no sense to let him walk. I do wish there was room for Pache but I think at least they've got him on a minors contract.
This is where Cohen's money can come into play a little bit. You could offer sweeteners ($$$) for Tauchman and Kimbrell ($$$) to go to Syracuse for a while to open the season. Would be good use of his fiscal strength. At this point in his career, is $250,000 too much money for Tauchman to walk away from. Kimbrell made enough he might not care. I hope Mets have some control over Hudson going to AAA. Liked his arm, sure we will need at some point. A major issue is the six starter nonsense. The Mets did a great job of accumulating MLB fringe talent for backup roles, and some have outperformed. As far as Melendez goes, as I have said all off-season since he signed, get him back behind the plate defensively. A lefty catcher on the bench, with pop, is gold.
That's an interesting idea. I can imagine less wealthy owners going hog-wild if Cohen paid people bigger bucks to loiter in Syracuse than to play for them in the majors. Has this loophole been used before?
Teams have done it before. Just not as visibibly. More attention to this stuff every year. I cant remember last time it happened (but I am pretty sure the Mets have done this in the past with guys. It was a pitcher I think.)
Benge has earned his spot to be the right fielder and should be in there everyday, unless there is a very tough lefty that might give him fits. Brett is a guy that should also get regular reps in the lineup. As for Vientos he has not shown this spring that his bat is back to where is was 2 years ago, and is a defensive liability in the field. If he doesn't hit, as far as I'm concerned he should be sent back down and possibly used as trade bait come the trade deadline. I don't see Kimbel as a problem to start the year due to what he has done in his career, but if it doesn't work out the Mets move on!
I get that Vientos has no options, but he’s showed zero signs of improvement or doing anything different from 2025 this spring. They should be taking the best 26 guys up north - especially when the cost of Vientos vs Mauricio (who seems like he’s finally figuring it out at the plate and can play multiple positions well) is nominal. I’d much rather see Mauricio start the season in Queens and play 4-5 days a week, giving Bo , Lindor and Semien breathers in the field, continue to build his confidence and learn from the vets around him and have his pure athleticism leveraged in ways Vientos couldn’t dream of.
Enjoying the coverage, but I’d pump the brakes a bit on reading too much into these spring numbers—especially with someone like Benge hitting .400+.
One thing that almost never gets broken out publicly is who those results are coming against. Spring training stats are a blend: a couple of at-bats vs. legit MLB arms early, then a steady diet of minor league pitchers, non-roster invitees, and guys just trying to get their work in by the middle and late innings.
So a line like .406/.472/.500 looks great—but it doesn’t tell us how much of that came against major-league-caliber pitching versus a Double-A arm in the 7th.
Teams absolutely know the difference. They’re looking at quality of contact, pitch recognition, and performance against top arms, not just the box score. From the outside, we don’t get that level of detail, which makes these numbers a little… let’s say, inflated.
Not saying Benge hasn’t impressed—by all accounts he has. Just that spring training can make a lot of hitters look like batting champs until the games start counting and the scouting reports tighten up.
In other words: encouraging signs, yes—but I’d treat the stat line more like a trailer than the full movie.
Behind the spotlight of in-game decisions by managers, lies the real game changing decisions (for better or for worse): how the roster is constructed, decisions on the last few open spots and the long term drafting and developing. IMO, this far outweighs what the field general does.
Why in the world would Tauchman take over late in games over Benge? That makes zero sense when Benge is clearly a much better rocket arm and has speed in spades plus his youth over Tauchman. A defensive replacement would be Tauchman starting and Benge taking over for him late in games. Benge makes this team and should be given runway to solidify himself as a big leaguer. Tauchman can play some first base plus DH too. He knows his role as a bench player but the idea of him taking over as a defensive replacement late in games isn’t anything near the realm of possibilities if knowledge of baseball is what we are trying to achieve here. I believe Taylor will be on a short leash because Pache had a great ST too. MJ killed his chances by sitting on PR’s WBC bench as he was killing the ball too. The only reason Taylor goes north is his better MlB history right now over a chance Pache has figured it out. If Taylor goes back to his .180 avg. he won’t be here long and Melendez or Pache will get called up. Vientos needs to be elsewhere and will be traded asap imo. Mauricio needs to play every day and we see what he can do given that opportunity. Baty will be the regular first baseman and I really believe he will give .280 plus 20/25hr. 90 RBI. I think he comps as an Olerud. Watch. He has figured it out and the second half last year was him doing what he will be going forward.
Hi James, I don't disagree, but the whole point of the piece was to put every single possibility on the table, even those that seem less likely of happening.
Not only does it not make sense to speak of Tauchman as a defensive replacement for Benge, it doesn't make sense to speak of Taylor as a defensive replacement for Luis Robert. Robert is universally described as a top notch center fielder. (Resting Robert every fourth game and starting Taylor or Tauchman is more like it). I'm coming around to your evaluation of Vientos, it's a shame but they'll get very little for him, similarly to McNeil. Agree with you about Baty.
I agree and the fact that Tauchman is also a lefty means he can’t even platoon with Benge. I think we end up letting him walk to find a better opportunity. Pache is righty and has been mashing. I’d keep him at least to start the season.
They invite him to camp. He does everything they could've hoped he would do. He's also got a track record. Makes no sense to let him walk. I do wish there was room for Pache but I think at least they've got him on a minors contract.
This is where Cohen's money can come into play a little bit. You could offer sweeteners ($$$) for Tauchman and Kimbrell ($$$) to go to Syracuse for a while to open the season. Would be good use of his fiscal strength. At this point in his career, is $250,000 too much money for Tauchman to walk away from. Kimbrell made enough he might not care. I hope Mets have some control over Hudson going to AAA. Liked his arm, sure we will need at some point. A major issue is the six starter nonsense. The Mets did a great job of accumulating MLB fringe talent for backup roles, and some have outperformed. As far as Melendez goes, as I have said all off-season since he signed, get him back behind the plate defensively. A lefty catcher on the bench, with pop, is gold.
That's an interesting idea. I can imagine less wealthy owners going hog-wild if Cohen paid people bigger bucks to loiter in Syracuse than to play for them in the majors. Has this loophole been used before?
Teams have done it before. Just not as visibibly. More attention to this stuff every year. I cant remember last time it happened (but I am pretty sure the Mets have done this in the past with guys. It was a pitcher I think.)
Benge has earned his spot to be the right fielder and should be in there everyday, unless there is a very tough lefty that might give him fits. Brett is a guy that should also get regular reps in the lineup. As for Vientos he has not shown this spring that his bat is back to where is was 2 years ago, and is a defensive liability in the field. If he doesn't hit, as far as I'm concerned he should be sent back down and possibly used as trade bait come the trade deadline. I don't see Kimbel as a problem to start the year due to what he has done in his career, but if it doesn't work out the Mets move on!
I get that Vientos has no options, but he’s showed zero signs of improvement or doing anything different from 2025 this spring. They should be taking the best 26 guys up north - especially when the cost of Vientos vs Mauricio (who seems like he’s finally figuring it out at the plate and can play multiple positions well) is nominal. I’d much rather see Mauricio start the season in Queens and play 4-5 days a week, giving Bo , Lindor and Semien breathers in the field, continue to build his confidence and learn from the vets around him and have his pure athleticism leveraged in ways Vientos couldn’t dream of.
Enjoying the coverage, but I’d pump the brakes a bit on reading too much into these spring numbers—especially with someone like Benge hitting .400+.
One thing that almost never gets broken out publicly is who those results are coming against. Spring training stats are a blend: a couple of at-bats vs. legit MLB arms early, then a steady diet of minor league pitchers, non-roster invitees, and guys just trying to get their work in by the middle and late innings.
So a line like .406/.472/.500 looks great—but it doesn’t tell us how much of that came against major-league-caliber pitching versus a Double-A arm in the 7th.
Teams absolutely know the difference. They’re looking at quality of contact, pitch recognition, and performance against top arms, not just the box score. From the outside, we don’t get that level of detail, which makes these numbers a little… let’s say, inflated.
Not saying Benge hasn’t impressed—by all accounts he has. Just that spring training can make a lot of hitters look like batting champs until the games start counting and the scouting reports tighten up.
In other words: encouraging signs, yes—but I’d treat the stat line more like a trailer than the full movie.
Unfortunately, Vientos can't be demoted. Out of options, would have to go through waivers and some team will grab him and see if he can find his mojo.
Behind the spotlight of in-game decisions by managers, lies the real game changing decisions (for better or for worse): how the roster is constructed, decisions on the last few open spots and the long term drafting and developing. IMO, this far outweighs what the field general does.