Mets' future depends on David Stearns making excellent offseason decisions
New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns speaks to the media before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Standing in a stark conference room in the otherwise Bacchanalian confines of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns joked wryly about how happy he was to be in Las Vegas.
Between the dings of slot machines and midday revelers, it seemed like a bit of an odd place to hold baseball’s general managers' meetings. And Stearns looked about as out of place as any other executive in Dockers and a quarter-zip sweater.
But in a way, it was apropos: This past week was the unofficial start to the baseball offseason, and for Stearns, the stakes can't be higher. And in order to succeed, it sounds as if he’s going to have to become very comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Granted, you could argue that last year’s Juan Soto sweepstakes was the most majestic swing of his career, but this year presents a more nuanced, and likely more difficult, challenge. Coming off one of the biggest collapses in franchise history, the roster is in tatters, and for the first time since Stearns was hired after the 2023 season, this truly feels like a team that will be almost wholly of his own making.
It’s a high-risk endeavor, particularly given that the front office has lost the good will created by a magical 2024 campaign.
Free agents Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz have more or less quashed any notion of a hometown discount, with both also saying their ultimate goal is going to a place that (1) pays them and (2) gives them a chance to win a ring.
Last offseason, that sounded like a point in the Mets’ favor; this year, with the sour taste of 2025 in their mouths and mounting concerns about the direction of the franchise, that’s less of a sure bet.
Then you can throw in some other concerns: The Mets need pitching and, while there are some decent options out there, it’s unclear how many true front-line arms truly are available for the taking. They have almost no bullpen. If Alonso departs, first base is a giant question with no easy answer.
Oh, and let’s not forget that they need to shore up their defense and the bottom of the lineup, and also must create chemistry with a completely overhauled coaching staff.
On its own, that’s a big job. But Stearns has to tick every box while also coming to terms with his own failures.
In post-mortem last month, he took responsibility for a team that severely underperformed expectations and vowed to troubleshoot the blind spots that led to the $341 million mistake.
Asked what he learned in the last month and a half, Stearns gave a glimmer of insight, but not much.
“I do think we came out of that with some very distinct and notable lessons,” he said, adding that he would keep those lessons internal. “I think it’s going to help us all be better going forward and likely influence how we go through every stage of the player acquisition process — whether that’s offseason, spring training, trade deadline.”
That means flexibility — not just in personnel but in philosophy. In an effort to build a sustainable contender, the Mets often have been cautious with trading their prospects, but now that they’ve built one of the best farm systems in baseball, it seems time to part with some of that capital.
Other than Soto, Stearns has stayed away from long-term contracts as a way to protect against devaluation, but in the course of the meetings, he acknowledged that sometimes you simply have to be OK with an aging investment (i.e., someone like Alonso).
“Sure, somewhere there’s a tipping point,” he said. “I also recognize that you generally get good free agents when they’re in their 30s, and to get good free agents, sometimes you have to extend them into places in their career where performance isn’t always going to go up.”
There also has been his past reluctance to allocate serious money toward pitching, particularly relief (paging Edwin Diaz, who could fetch somewhere around the $85 million range).
“I think we’re always evaluating each situation on an individual basis,” Stearns said. “I try not to draw lines in the sand.”
If you take all this at face value, it represents a potential ideological shift from the caution that has marked his time in Queens. As always, the question is how much of a shift is too much?
Stearns is in the position he’s in because he’s going to have to make these choices while the rest of us sit back, pretend to know what will and won’t work, and judge the results accordingly. There can be an unfairly thin line between being labeled a genius or a fraud, but for the time being, he’ll live on that tightrope.
It’s a risk. It’s uncomfortable. But the Mets’ future depends on him excelling while dealing in both.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
