David Stearns' Confidence in Mets' Direction Speaks Volumes

Long road ahead, let's enjoy the ride..

David Stearns spoke with the team’s press corps on Wednesday, standing confidently behind his modest-on-the-surface (and in the wallet) approach to his first winter at the helm of the New York Mets. 

Compared to his predecessor’s big spending (with the owner’s blessing, of course) and big 2023 flop, plus the big tax bill coming this year, Stearns stepped into the Citi Field box with a unique pair of cleats on. Well, sort of. 

During his time in Milwaukee, Stearns was tasked with making the most of the resources available to him. In turn, he built out the organizational infrastructure, developed prospects well, traded and spent when he felt it was necessary (with the owner’s blessing, of course), and, for the most part, it worked out pretty well. 

In Queens, Stearns will have all the resources at his disposal, and he’s covering some of the same bases so far, by all accounts. This year might be just a little bit different, though. 

Stepping on every single rake that was placed in front of them last season—both off the field and on—put the Mets at a disadvantage this season. A team can buy their way out of these sort of things, but isn’t that just a band-aid on a bigger issue? 

This offseason, maybe wisely, the Mets are taking it slowly. With a solid core in tow and filling out the depth chart apparently taking major priority this winter, the Mets believe they can stay in the National League mix and find themselves in the dance come October. Will it happen? Maybe. Stearns seems to think they’re moving along according to plan so far. 

“We're putting together a team that we expect to compete for a playoff spot. That's what I expressed in my opening press conference, it's what I believe we are doing and it remains our goal,” he said, “We are going to go into every single year with the expectations of competing for and being in the playoffs. We are not going into any season with anything less than that, and so that is certainly where we are right now.” 

Love the sentiment. Not too much rah-rah. Just enough confidence. 9.5/10. 

What we’ve seen this offseason is a litany of depth moves with a clear objective of reinforcing each part of this roster from their respective bottoms up. Again, nothing wrong with that. Would more be better? Yes. Yes, it would. 

Stears has fortified the meat and potatoes portion of the bullpen via the likes of Jorge Lopez, Michael Tonkin, Yohan Ramirez, Cole Sulser, Austin Adams, Kyle Crick, and as of this week, Yacksiel Rios. The back end is still lacking from this seat in the stands, but there’s still time to work on that. 

And hey, Andy Martino says the Mets have a whole $10 million left to spend this offseason and it’s earmarked for the relief corps. So they’ve got that going for them.. 

Liam Hendriks and Josh Hader remain on the open market but both will surely command big AAV. Would either fit into the Mets’ plans? Probably not, unless either is willing to play second fiddle to Edwin Diaz’s first seat. 

Adam Ottavino was looking good on the tube, so who knows what his plans are this spring. Someone in that vein, though — a reliable late-innings reliever — would be the ticket for this current iteration of the Boys of Bummer. 

Old pal David Robertson is still out there and per his exit from Flushing this past summer, enjoyed his time here and would fit the bill of a $10 million man. 

Joel Sherman of the New York Post mentioned former Yankees left-hander Wandy Peralta, and 30-year-old righty John Brebbia, most recently with San Francisco, and Brent Suter as potential Mets targets this week. Suter (arguably the most appealing of the three mentioned) signed with Cincinnati on a one-year, $3 million deal on Thursday ($3.5 million club option in 2025 with a $500K buyout). 

As of Thursday evening, the others remain. We’ll see if that’s a route the Mets take. Diaz, Riley, Lopez, Tonkin, Drew Smith, and whoever else makes the cut out of camp could suffice if the Mets are looking to stay in the hunt this season. Another back-end arm would help the competing for a postseason berth cause a whole bunch. 

The starting rotation is technically full via Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, and Adrian Houser, but is it complete? Time will tell. Once again, more would be better. 

And how about the designated hitter? Will versatility and the DH play in concert together as they did under Buck Showalter and the previous regime, allowing the current roster to get reps in the DH spot throughout the season?

Or will the Mets jump in on the J.D. Martinez sweepstakes as the offseason winds down? Take a look at his Statcast page. He may be all or nothing versus breaking balls (.599 SLG, 44% whiff in 2023), but the veteran splinterman’s still got it. 

And with all due respect to Abbott & Costello, THIRD BASE! Justin Turner would be a wonderful addition to not only produce through the twilight of his career (go check his numbers since the Mets non-tendered him in 2013) but to guide Brett Baty (or Mark Vientos) into their careers as cornerstone hopefuls. 

Or, the Mets could explore the trade market, which we’re not even gonna try to speculate on. But, assuredly, if they choose to explore, teams will ask for big prospects. Will Stearns flip Billy Eppler’s haul for the right return? Will Baty or Vientos start spring training with a new club? All possible. None will be tossed about on this forum. We are of the wait-and-see club in this regard. 

As far as the outfield goes, Starling Marte will be the fulcrum of this group. We all know what Brandon Nimmo brings to the table. Harrison Bader’s defense (and solid production versus left-handed pitching) should help save some runs. Jeff McNeil can play corners. DJ Stewart is back. It can work, but, yes, this is a theme, more would be better.

Stay tuned. More to come, for sure.