PORT ST. LUCIE — In the middle of the New York Mets’ clubhouse shortly after a recent game, Jorge Polanco chatted for several minutes about the intricacies of playing first base with Keith Hernandez.
Aside from a few reporters, Polanco and Hernandez were the only people in the room. Throughout the conversation, Polanco, still in uniform, listened with intent, never averting his eyes from Hernandez, who did most of the talking.
Hernandez, an 11-time winner of the Gold Glove Award, is arguably the greatest defensive first baseman. He had spent the prior few hours in his role as a television analyst. On the topic of first base, Hernandez always has more to say.
Polanco, a 32-year-old neophyte at the position, was right to soak up any knowledge he could. For Polanco, the conversation was invaluable. The Mets like Polanco most for his bat, so he likely sees plenty of time at designated hitter. When he takes the field, however, he is set to receive action at first base. While Polanco came up as a shortstop, he has played mostly second base. Per Polanco’s recounting of their talk, Hernandez instructed him to lean into his range and remain confident.
“He talked to me a lot about being on time, knowing your infielders and knowing your pitching staff with how they like to throw to first base,” Polanco said. “He told me to try and cover as much ground as I can, but to be on time at the base. For me, the most important thing, though, was what he was telling me about having a mindset, having confidence.”
Three hours before a game earlier this week, Carson Benge plopped down on the dugout steps, leaned his back against a wall and stared toward an empty field. He is a 23-year-old outfielder in the final days of his first big-league camp on the doorstep of a major-league debut. He looked like a guy without a care in the world.
Seeing Benge sitting by himself on the steps with a stone-faced stare, a Mets official asked Benge if he could snap a photo of him. At this request, Benge posed for the camera. He flashed a huge grin.
Benge’s stoicism is a real personality trait, veteran Mets players said. Sometimes, a top prospect can act as if he is not fazed by the moment. While Benge understands the stakes, he is not showing any signs of pressure overwhelming him.
Ahead of Friday’s game, Benge said he hadn’t been informed whether he would make the Mets’ Opening Day roster. As a clue that they are weighing whether to carry Benge and veteran Mike Tauchman over a backup infielder like Vidal Bruján, the Mets started Bo Bichette at shortstop. If star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who had hamate surgery last month, needed to come out of a game, the Mets could slide Bichette over from third base and backfill the hot corner with someone like Brett Baty.
For his part, Benge has made it all but impossible to deny him the job in right field.
In 12 Grapefruit League games, Benge has slashed .412/.487/.500. More important than the raw results, Mets club officials consistently have said that Benge has impressed with his approach, plate discipline and defense. Friday, against a pair of St. Louis Cardinals left-handers, Benge, a left-handed batter, went 1-for-2 with a strikeout and a walk.
“Pitchers execute their pitches, and he’s able to lay off some of them,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said when asked what he liked about Benge against left-handers this spring. “And just the way he uses the whole field. Two strikes, he is not afraid to stay in there and go the other way.”
Early one morning, Huascar Brazobán sat at his locker. It was his first day back with the Mets after appearing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. He arrived at the facility well before most players.
As his teammates filed into the clubhouse, they acknowledged Brazobán’s return.
No one was louder than Freddy Peralta, who, like Brazobán, is a native of the Dominican Republic.
Upon spotting Brazobán, Peralta shouted, “Brazo! Wow! Wow, Brazo!”
“Impressed?” Peralta said later with an incredulous look on his face. “He was nasty.”
Indeed, Brazobán turned heads in the tournament. In four WBC innings, Brazobán retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced with seven strikeouts. After the Dominican Republic’s run ended, Mendoza said New York intended to carry Brazobán on the Opening Day roster. The main reason Brazobán’s situation held any intrigue was because of his eligibility to be optioned to the minor leagues.
Brazobán’s presence on the roster leaves one opening in the bullpen. Craig Kimbrel, Bryan Hudson and Richard Lovelady are candidates for the job, though Mets officials have left open the possibility of looking externally for help as clubs across the league make roster cuts.
