Mets owner Steve Cohen waited almost three years to hire David Stearns as his president of baseball operations.
He finally got his man at last season’s conclusion.
Stearns, 39, left the Brewers for the larger challenge of resurrecting the organization he rooted for growing up in Manhattan.
What’s his path to success? Here are five areas in which he can start:
Building the farm
Cohen has been consistent in his message since buying the team that the Mets need to develop a farm system that can automatically replenish itself. The Mets appear on the right track — Cohen recently used the word “stacked” to describe his farm system — but now it’s on Stearns to bring it to the next level through a combination of the draft, international signings and player development. Names to watch this season within the system include Drew Gilbert, Jett Williams, Luisangel Acuña, Ryan Clifford, Christian Scott and Brandon Sproat.
Management cohesion
Stearns was given the opportunity to select his own manager upon arriving and was unafraid to select a rookie for the position in Carlos Mendoza. Part of Mendoza’s appeal was his pedigree as somebody who had spent the last four seasons on the bench as Aaron Boone’s top lieutenant with the Yankees. Buck Showalter was never going to be a fit working with Stearns given the former manager’s gravitas and strong opinions on how an organization should be run. Stearns and Mendoza appeared to have a solid rapport in camp, and need to further develop that relationship.
For Pete’s sake
Pete Alonso is entering his final season before free agency. Stearns needs to get it right next offseason (or beforehand) when deciding on how to proceed with a popular homegrown player. At a time when first basemen aren’t valued in the same manner as players at positions requiring more athleticism, does it make sense to give Alonso an enormous deal? On the other hand, if Alonso leaves, so too will a significant amount of the lineup’s home-run potential.
- AL East preview: Where are the Yankees projected to finish?
- NL East preview: Do the Mets have a chance?
- AL Central preview: Detroit’s youth movement is here
- NL Central preview: Reds make a sneaky contender case
- AL West preview: Who wins out in the Astros-Rangers battle?
- NL West preview: Can anyone catch the Dodgers?
Spending Cohen’s cash
Stearns’ arrival follows a disastrous season in which the Mets were paying two starting pitchers alone (Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander) a combined $86 million. Stearns played it conservative with Cohen’s checkbook over the winter as the organization attempts a reset, but the time will come — likely next winter — in which spending for significant pieces will be required. Does Stearns have the stomach to, say, re-sign Alonso and give Juan Soto a mammoth contract? That aspect of the job is new for Stearns after guiding Milwaukee’s front office for much of the last decade.
Unearthing gems
It’s not just the big acquisitions that matter. Stearns has forged a reputation as somebody skilled at building a roster by finding players who haven’t maximized their potential. The Mets’ scouting department under Stearns will have to find those players, but also from within the Mets will have to improve their own, using technology such as the team’s pitching lab, which opened last June.
