PORT ST. LUCIE — Carson Benge is only a year younger than Darryl Strawberry was when he won his World Series with the Mets, and he’s set to play the same position, right field. When Strawberry won a World Series at just 24 years old, it set a high bar. The Mets Hall of Famer thought he would be winning championships like that every year.

A six-time All-Star and a three-time World Series winner, Strawberry wants Benge and the rest of the Mets to know expecting to win is foolish. It takes work, individually and as a team.

“I don’t know much about the young man, but I hear great things about him,” Strawberry said about Benge. “I think this organization has really done a great job developing the younger players again, as you will see, a lot of them are starting to really click.”

The Mets could have acquired another outfielder over the winter but opted not to block Benge at the Major League level. Strawberry sees this as a good thing. He played fewer than three seasons in the minor leagues before getting his call-up in 1983, and was then thrown right into the fire.

Learning on the job in the big leagues something Strawberry thinks could be good for Benge, who has only played in 131 pro games.

“I think looking at him, he’s probably a kid that’s got a chance to flourish here,” Strawberry said. “He’s young, but sometimes you’ve got to put the young players out there. You’ve got to let them learn.”

Strawberry still has a great affinity for the homegrown Mets. Coming up in Queens with the team that drafted him was exceptionally meaningful for him. He’s never backed down from his opinion that New York City is both the most difficult city to play in and the most rewarding.

It’s why he was left “shocked” when Pete Alonso went to the Baltimore Orioles on a five-year free agent contract in December. Strawberry voiced his opinions about Alonso’s departure Monday, speaking to the Daily News and two other outlets in Port St. Lucie about how he thinks the first baseman who broke his home run record will someday come to regret leaving the Mets.

But a day later, Strawberry says he was speaking about his own feelings when he left the Mets in 1990.

He was also unaware that the Mets never made an offer to Alonso last winter. Ultimately, he’s happy that Alonso made a decision that was best for him and his family.

“I didn’t know anything about that,” Strawberry said. “I wasn’t into these decisions with [the Mets]. I was talking about Pete from the player standpoint of what he meant to this organization, like some of the other guys that came through this organization. Like I said, there’s not many of us. It’s only a handful of us that have come to this organization from the ground up and had success in New York.

“That’s very hard to do, and hopefully some of these other younger guys get that opportunity to do that too.”

Benge has been encouraged by the Mets to talk to Strawberry this week, as have others. A devout Christian, the two connect on their religion and spirituality. Strawberry, who runs an addiction recovery ministry with his wife, Tracy, has a new book coming out in August about finding strength and purpose through religion. It’s his last book, he says, and it’s one he’s excited about because it’s not about baseball.

“How did I get to where I’m at? I got through here, through the trials and tribulations and the storms of life,” Strawberry said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

The group of players in camp who are on slower timelines are about to speed up their progressions, though not to a great extent. The Mets aren’t going to put timelines on Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Jorge Polanco or Luis Robert, but so far, all have stayed healthy, which should allow them to start working into Grapefruit League games.

A few of them will play in simulated games on the backfields Wednesday and Thursday. Alvarez will get into games this week as a DH and start catching in games Saturday. Baty will play first base in games this weekend.

UP NEXT

The Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals at Clover Park on Wednesday afternoon.