Monday, October 26

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat. 

Even after a lost season, the Mets have a real chance at some postseason hardware.

With the World Series set to end this week, Major League Baseball’s awards season will begin. Several Mets have a chance to cash in on individual honors, thanks in large part to the team’s excellent rookie class.

Here's a look at those who could be recognized:

Carson Benge

Candidate for: Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove

With two weeks left in the regular season, Benge wasn’t a realistic National League Rookie of the Year winner. That’s because his offensive numbers paled compared to those of Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart, who hit 32 homers and briefly led the league in RBIs. But Stewart hit just .121 without an extra-base hit in his final eight games, opening the door for Benge to come crashing through it.

Over his last nine games, Benge hit .472 with three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and a 1.259 OPS, all while playing exemplary defense in right field. He finished his rookie campaign with 20 home runs, 22 stolen bases and a .776 OPS, just 11 points lower than Stewart. His WAR, meanwhile, was more than double Stewart’s.

Defensively, Benge has a legitimate argument for the best arm in the Majors. (Statcast’s Arm Value metric rated him first.) That’s a big part of why he’s also a Gold Glove candidate. We’ll soon learn whether Benge’s total package will be enough to push him past Stewart, St. Louis' JJ Wetherholt and others for NL Rookie of the Year.

Nolan McLean

Candidate for: Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove

Realistically, McLean won’t place ahead of Benge or Stewart for the aforementioned Rookie of the Year award, despite his status as the NL’s clear top rookie pitcher. But McLean could easily finish in the Top 3 while potentially winning a different piece of hardware. Like Benge, McLean is a standout defender at his position, which is perhaps unsurprising given his history as a two-way player at Oklahoma State.

After playing six different positions in college, McLean has transitioned seamlessly to full-time mound work. Defensive Runs Saved, a catch-all metric designed to quantify a player’s overall contributions, ranked him fifth in the Majors behind Brent Suter, Michael McGreevy, Tanner Bibee and Shota Imanaga.

Armed with a sharp pickoff move and a quick delivery to the plate, McLean effectively discouraged opposing baserunners from even attempting to steal. They tried just eight times all year. For those reasons, McLean is an NL Gold Glove finalist alongside McGreevy and 2024 winner Chris Sale.

A.J. Ewing

Candidate for: Rookie of the Year

To be clear: Ewing isn’t going to win Rookie of the Year over Benge, who had an objectively better season overall. But he could garner a few down-ballot votes, which would be a fine way for the baseball world to recognize what Ewing accomplished as a freshman. Among his accolades were a franchise rookie record 25 stolen bases.

Luis Torrens

Candidate for: Gold Glove

Torrens also faces an unlikely path to an award, mostly because he’s not a full-time player. Yet while caddying for starter Francisco Alvarez, Torrens threw out 17 of 44 would-be base stealers and rated in the 85th percentile or better in Statcast’s blocking, framing and pop time metrics. Pound for pound, he’s been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball for multiple years running, which is why he’s a Gold Glove finalist.

Rawlings will announce the winners of the Gold Glove Awards on Nov. 1, while the Rookie of the Year announcement will take place Nov. 9. A full guide to awards season is here.

As soon as the World Series ends, the MLB offseason will technically begin. Here’s a list of dates to know for the first few weeks of it:

• First day after World Series: Players become free agents; players may be traded between clubs

• Five days after World Series (5 p.m. ET): Deadline for teams to make a qualifying offer to players; players can begin signing with any club

• Nov. 10-12: General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas

• Nov. 17 (4 p.m. ET): Deadline for players to accept a qualifying offer

• Nov. 20: Tender deadline

Since pitch counts became an officially tracked Major League statistic in 1988, which Met has thrown the most pitches in a postseason game?

A) Jacob deGrom

B) Mike Hampton

C) Al Leiter

D) Noah Syndergaard

Major League Baseball on Monday named Francisco Lindor the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing Lindor for years’ worth of philanthropic efforts in New York, Florida and his native Puerto Rico. It’s the league’s highest off-field honor, and it’s a particularly meaningful one for Lindor, a Puerto Rican who grew up learning about Clemente in school. He’s the fifth Puerto Rican-born player and the fifth Met to win it.

“It’s a little bit surreal, you know?” Lindor said.

Over a 12-year career so far, Lindor’s charitable work has included hurricane relief efforts, a mentorship program, education initiatives and much more. Read about all that, as well as Lindor’s reaction to winning the Clemente Award, here.

• The Mets have pursued both Kevin Long and John Mallee for their vacant hitting coach position, according to sources. Many Mets fans are familiar with Long, who held that job in Flushing during the team’s 2015 World Series run. Mallee also features a strong resume, most recently helping Pete Crow-Armstrong blossom into the probable National League MVP. More on the Mets’ search here.

• After all that, Freddy Peralta is about to start Game 3 of the World Series for the Rays. The Mets will forever be part of his 2026 story.

C) Leiter

Leiter threw 142 pitches in a 2000 World Series Game 5 4-2 loss, holding the Yankees to two runs for most of the evening before caving for two more in the ninth. Since pitch counting formally began in 1988, only David Cone (147 for the Yankees), Curt Schilling (147 for the Phillies) and Liván Hernández (143 for the Marlins) have thrown more in a postseason game.

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