Syracuse Mets Unveil Full 2026 Opening Day Roster Ahead of Season Start

The Triple-A season opened March 27 with the Syracuse Mets beginning their 2026 campaign on the road in Worcester, Mass., at 4:05 p.m. ET, with Jonah Tong drawing the Opening Day start. Manager Dick Scott, who earned Minor League Baseball's Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award for Player Development in 2025, returns for his fourth season at the helm.

After three road games in Worcester, the home opener at NBT Bank Stadium is set for Tuesday, March 31 against the Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The roster Scott takes into that first road series is a mix of established organizational depth and notable absences shaped by both promotion and injury.

The most conspicuous name missing from the active roster is outfielder Carson Benge. On March 23, the Mets announced that Benge had made the Opening Day roster, and he made his Major League debut on March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting a home run off Justin Lawrence. Benge, a two-way player at Oklahoma State who was drafted 19th overall in 2024, split last season across three levels, batting .281/.385/.472 with 15 home runs and 22 stolen bases. Manager Carlos Mendoza framed Benge's ascent plainly: "A kid that gets drafted in 2024 and two years later, here we are, giving him the news that he's going to be playing in the big leagues for us. He earned it. He had a hell of a camp, and we are all excited to watch this kid play."

The outfield that remains in Syracuse includes Ji Hwan Bae and Cristian Pache. The infield carries Christian Arroyo, Ryan Clifford, Jackson Cluff, Yonny Hernandez, Grae Kessinger, and Jose Rojas, while Austin Barnes and Kevin Parada handle catching duties. The pitching staff is the deepest section of the roster, with 22 arms headlined by Adbert Alzolay, Carl Edwards Jr., Nick Burdi, and Opening Day starter Tong.

Not all of those arms will be available right away. Craig Kimbrel, Jose Aular, and Mike Baumann will start the season on the development list. Christian Scott, coming off injury, will remain in extended spring training to build arm strength before joining the Syracuse roster.

The home opener March 31 at NBT Bank Stadium is against Toledo, and the team has added a weather-contingency promotion to go along with the Taco Tuesday theme: if game-time temperatures at the stadium do not reach 53 degrees, every fan in attendance can use that ticket to return to any game in April or May at no additional charge.

The regular season runs 150 games through September 20, with Syracuse's schedule featuring 24 games each against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Rochester, and Lehigh Valley, plus 21 apiece against Worcester and Buffalo.

One layer of context hanging over the entire 2026 season: the organization announced that manager Dick Scott won Minor League Baseball's Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award for Distinguished Service in Player Development, and the franchise itself is operating in what amounts to its final full season under the Syracuse Mets identity. The team announced in August 2025 that it would rebrand for the 2027 season, with a fan voting process and a new team name reveal planned for fall 2026.