Man, isn’t winning fun? The 2026 Mets should have done this all year.

Saturday evening, the Mets beat the Nationals 5-4 on a Francisco Lindor walk-off to cap a ninth inning comeback. Sean Manaea was good enough to win, the Mets got 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball out of the bullpen, and strung together some late hits to take the first two of a three game set against the Nationals. This win makes the Mets 8-3 since the trade deadline, even with shipping off the amount of major league talent that they did.

So, what seems to have changed over the last 11 games? Well, the Mets decided they were going to turn into an elite offense on the day of the MLB trade deadline. Entering Saturday, the Mets offense ranks: ties for first in wRC+, first in home runs, tied for second in runs, first in OPS, and fifth in xwOBA. A staggering turnaround from what Mets fans were used to seeing for the vast majority of the games before the deadline.

Carson Benge by Berto Carlo

When asked about the recent hot streak, Carson Benge told reporters that the players are, “just having fun” and, “playing like we’re kids again.” And, boy, it certainly seems like it.

Benge, while not the only player responsible for the turnaround, has been on an unreal heater at the plate. Including the game on Saturday, Benge is slashing a ridiculous .385/.455/.692 (1.147 OPS). He has three home runs, driven in eight, and scored eight. This has not just been a small stretch of good hitting. Over the last 100 games, Benge is hitting .294 with an .805 OPS, 13 home runs, and 13 stolen bases. Combine this with his fantastic defense, and you are looking at an incredibly valuable player for the Mets future.

Benge is not the only Met scorching since the All-Star break. Bo Bichette, Jared Young, Lindor, and Luis Robert Jr. all have a wRC+ of at least 114. Young is making a huge case to be a contributor on the team next year. Bichette, after a brutal start to the year, has settled in nicely. And Francisco Lindor, well, is back to his normal self again.

The biggest difference comes in two parts. Obviously, when you get dominance players, like Benge and Bichette right now, it’s going to be hard to struggle. However, it is just as important that the glaring gaps in the lineup are all producing. Francisco Alvarez has been fantastic and the trio of A.J. Ewing, Marcus Semien, and Brett Baty are doing enough, to different levels, to allow the stars to keep producing. The lineup being as deep as it is right now is what president of baseball operations David Stearns envisioned for the 2026 Mets. Just five months too late.