Mets' David Stearns betting on himself despite fan frustration
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns looks on during a spring training workout in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Feb. 12, 2025. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
David Stearns is acutely aware of his fan base’s frustrations. He knew he wasn’t going to win any congeniality awards when he shipped off Brandon Nimmo, or failed to re-sign Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz; heck, even trading Jeff McNeil caused some mild consternation. And it certainly doesn’t help that we’re now well into January, and this team is incomplete.
They have about a dozen infielders (more or less) but no true first baseman. They don’t have an established, top-of-the-rotation starter. And were the season to start today, there would be two outfielders on their roster: Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor (at last check, you needed at least three).
“I certainly understand that there have been points in this offseason that have been frustrating for our fan base,” he said Tuesday during a lunch with reporters at Citi Field. “We’re not blind to that. I hear it, I recognize it. I hear it from my friends and family at times.”
Talk about awkward chatter over the holidays. That said, Stearns remained resolute.
“What we are doing is the right thing for our franchise going forward to accomplish our goals of creating a consistent playoff team — a team that, year after year, is a true World Series contender and ultimately, a team that does what we are all here to do, which is win a World Series," he said. "That’s why we’re doing all this.”
In short, Stearns, coming off a season where his “superstar” team pulled together 83 wins before missing the playoffs, is asking fans for their trust, and he’s doing it in the most grandiose way possible: He blew up the core with few surefire replacements in place, and is betting on himself in a hard-nosed way that belies his generally soft-spoken nature.
It’s a gutsy move, and maybe, just maybe, that's something fans can get behind. After all, there’s not much choice. It’s clear owner Steve Cohen has given him the keys to the kingdom and while Stearns said he isn’t done building this roster, he also insisted that what they’ve got now isn’t all that bad.
“We have this pretty unique combination right now of MVP-caliber talent up top, players who have already established themselves at the major-league level who are that phase in their career where there’s the potential — not the certainty, certainly — but the potential for a job, and really exciting, premium young prospects who are about to hit the major-league level,” he said. “That is an enviable place for any organization to be.”
"Enviable” might be pushing it, but he did sketch out a raw blueprint of what this roster might look like come Opening Day.
The organization remains high on prospect Carson Benge, who could feasibly make it out of spring training as their starting centerfielder. They’ll continue to look into outfield depth — star free agent Kyle Tucker is still available, though he’ll be plenty expensive, and there are also trade possibilities. Next season will mark the return of righty Christian Scott from Tommy John surgery, and, if all goes well, the continued maturation of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong. Stearns believes Jorge Polanco can be a serviceable first baseman, despite having played just one major-league game there, and thinks that Mark Vientos, whose primary defensive liability is his lateral range, could work at that position as well.
Those, though, are a lot of "what-ifs," and "what-if" doesn’t play all that well when you shipped off a slew of fan favorites in the span of a few short months.
There’s the other chatter, too: While Stearns is hardly a penny pincher, he’s loath to bog down the roster with long-term contracts, something that has cost him at least a few big-name players. Tuesday, rumors circulated that the Mets offered Tucker a short-term deal worth around $50 million a year, but there are also projections out there that have him going for eight years or more. The top free-agent pitchers on the market, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez, could command longer deals, and they’re not quite the "ace" caliber that would otherwise make the risk worthwhile. Thanks to his versatility and strong 2025, Cody Bellinger’s market has also become inflated.
“It hasn’t been hard for me to stay patient and stick to my principles,” Stearns said. “I grew up a Mets fan. I love the Mets. I am committed to doing this job in a way that truly sets us up for success for a sustained period of time. That’s why I want to be here. So I think that end goal and that end desire and that motivation makes it much easier for me not to be swayed by some near-term sentiment. As difficult as near-term sentiment can be and certainly in this town, as loud as it can be, I understand ultimately what our task is, what our mission is. I believe we’re on our way to achieving it.”
It's a weird juxtaposition, isn’t it? The time for sentimentality is over. Stearns clearly intends to preside over this franchise with cold precision, all the while knowing that spring training comes at you fast, and baseball takes no prisoners. But after all that, there’s still that one everpresent message: Ya gotta believe.
It used to be a rallying cry. Now, as Stearns faces his biggest challenge yet, it’s a plea.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
