Benge, Wetherholt and Stewart Named NL Rookie Finalists
Mets outfielder Carson Benge, Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Reds infielder Sal Stewart were named National League Rookie of the Year finalists on November 2. The winner will be announced next week.
On November 2, Major League Baseball named Carson Benge, JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart contenders for the National League’s top first-year player honor. The winner is due to be announced next week, after ballots are cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s 30 local branches.
Benge, 23, hit .282 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs for the Mets, and led NL right fielders with 10 assists. He was also a Gold Glove finalist, but Arizona’s Corbin Carroll took the award. Benge could become the sixth Mets player to win Rookie of the Year.
Wetherholt, 24, hit .242 with 17 homers and a .339 on-base percentage. His 4.5 Baseball-Reference wins above replacement reflected strong defense at second base and baserunning alongside a league-average bat. The Cardinals could earn a first-round selection at the close of the round if he wins, under MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive, despite his eight-year, $112.5 million contract.
Stewart’s case includes 32 home runs, 112 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. The comparison among the three could turn on how voters weigh his offensive production against Wetherholt’s defense and baserunning, and Benge’s well-rounded season.
The Mets also claimed pitchers Jack Anderson and Pierson Ohl off waivers as teams approached the deadline to set 40-man rosters. Anderson posted a 2.19 ERA in seven relief appearances last season; Ohl, returning from Tommy John surgery, last pitched in the majors in 2025.