The New York Mets have a timing problem. They need to get better defensively, and that means adding speed and range in center. There are prospects who are close to ready, but there’s obvious risk in bringing them up too soon.

Outfielder Carson Benge is the closest to being able to make the jump. Tim Britton of The Athletic took a run at evaluating Benge’s readiness, especially with GM David Stearn commenting that Benge could be ready as soon as opening day of next year during his comments on Tuesday as the winter GM meetings got under way in Las Vegas. 

The path is clear for Benge, but opposing executives don’t necessarily agree that he’s ready. Benge has started just 71 games in center since he left high school, so it’s hard to take Stearns’ statement at face value. 

There are other options like outfielder Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, but both would require a significant trade package, as Britton points out. Plugging in a player like Buxton who’s over 30 lmay not solve the defense problem, and he could also create a barrier to Benge’s potential emergence.

The Mets already tried the veteran option with outfielder Cedric Mullins, but he was basically a disaster last year. There’s no good solution to this predicament, and virtually every evaluator who’s looked at Benge thinks he’s going to need something close to a full year at Triple A to get his offense to the point where it’s respectable. 

The only veteran stopgap Britton listed who wouldn’t require a trade would be outfielder Trent Grisham, who’s now a free agent after playing for the Yankees last year. But signing Grisham would cost the Mets a draft pick, not to mention whatever his contract demands would be at the age of 29. 

That puts the Mets back in the trade market, but the question then becomes which need comes first. There’s a lot of buzz about a trade for Detroit starter Tarik Skubal, but the cost would be enormous. There’s also first base to consider, not to mention finding a second baseman who’s a strong defender to tighten things up in the infield. 

The one thing the Mets shouldn’t do is rush Benge to the majors. It’s entirely possible that Stearns is talking up Benge to increase his trade value, but this doesn’t look like a questions that’s going to get answered any time soon.