Fire David Stearns

[Centerfield]

I think it’s time.  You just can’t let him be in charge anymore.

It’s not just the results.  It’s the arrogance.  It’s that he won’t change anything.  Mendoza needs to be fired.  The hitting philosophy needs to be dumped.  The over reliance on lefty/righty matchups being a justification for giving terrible players ABs.

Are you really going to let him handle the deadline?  There’s no one I’d trust less.

 

[duan]

I don't think I'm there with firing Stearns. 
We waited ages to get him, he has a track record of achievement and I think I can understand all of the moves bar Polanco. 
Of the players he let go who do you think should have been retained?

Edwin Diaz and his wonky elbow
Pete Alonso and his .750 OPS?
Jeff McNeil and his .720 OPS?
Brandon Nimmo - Great start but 609OPS last 28 days

Even though the starting pitching has had all sorts of bumps and bruises as a totality it's been ok. 

 

 

 

[Radar]

Don't want to hear "we waited ages to get him". So what? Also this team is worse since Mr. Genuis took over not better. Fire them all after this season or now if there are better options available. Stearns let his arrogance get us where we are. 

[duan]

Where do we this 'arrogance' claim. Every GM/POBO has to operate with a degree of I believe in my decision making and/or the process I use to get there. 

I'm not sure that I get 'arrogance' from that. 
 

[Cowtipper]

At this point it's time for a tectonic shift, and since Stearns has been the architect of the mind boggling teams we've had these past two years, I think that shift should include ditching him. 

[duan]

yeah, I get that but I'm not sure I'm there yet. I don't think changing POBO/GM whatever, early May is the best plan. I think if we fail to make the playoffs he's going to be very likely gone, but there's time to deal with that then. 
 

[Gwreck]

20 minutes ago, duan said:

Where do we this 'arrogance' claim.

It’s complete lazy bullshit, something invented because it’s easy to lash out when the team underperforms.  And, apparently, people feel threatened by those who are younger than them (hence all the ridiculous/repeated complaints about him being young).

—- 

Firing Stearns mid-season is dumb because it won’t fix the team this year and has all sorts of potential negative side effects (there’s a draft coming up, it makes Cohen look impetuous and thus harder to find a good replacement, etc).  

Centerfield brings up an interesting counterpoint, about whether Stearns should be in charge of deadline trades.  Aside from generalized anger/disappointment at the team’s performance this year, I’m not sure what the support is for the idea that he can’t do that effectively.  I also don’t think there’s a lot to do at the deadline.  The Mets have what, 3 tradeable assets?  Peralta, Holmes, and Raley, all on expiring contracts?  No GM is coming back with a big haul from that.

[Radar]

2 hours ago, duan said:

yeah, I get that but I'm not sure I'm there yet. I don't think changing POBO/GM whatever, early May is the best plan. I think if we fail to make the playoffs he's going to be very likely gone, but there's time to deal with that then. 
 

I'm there but agree that if he goes it probably should be after season.

[Centerfield]

I think there's plenty to back the arrogance claim.  I'm not sure what others may say, and maybe their takes are lazy, but I don't throw around that word without backup.

JD Martinez.  Let's go back to the JD negotiations in winter of 2024.  JD held out until March 23 after hitting an impasse.  Stearns likely felt he had the upper hand with Martinez having no other suitors.  The stalled negotiations cost JD and the Mets all of spring training.  JD didn't debut until the end of April.  How much was at controversy?  A million?  2 million?  Stearns obviously felt he didn't need to give in.  He was only taking JD at his price.  History tells us we don't make the playoffs if JD signs elsewhere.  And how much did that month cost us?  In the end, the 2024 team was a $350M team that earned the third WC through a tiebreaker.  They never contended for the division.  My takeaway would have been "damn, we got fucking lucky.  I better not make this type of mistake again".  Stearns did not.

Paul Blackburn.  Stearns traded for him at the deadline in 2024.  He started 5 games and pitched to an ERA over 5 and a WHIP over 1.5.  Many of us at the time said we had no idea what Stearns saw in this guy.  After he got here, he did nothing to change our minds.  Then he got hurt when his spine started leaking fluid.  He was an obvious non-tender candidate.  But Stearns doubled down.  Not only did he tender him a contract, he ran him out there 7 times in 2025, while pitching to a 6.85 ERA and a WHIP of 1.648.  He was a walking white flag.  The only reason he kept getting the ball was Stearns refusing to acknowledge what the rest of us knew.  In 2025, we missed the playoffs via tiebreaker.

Nolan McLean.  And while he was running Blackburn and the Retreads out there start after start, he kept McLean in the minors.  At one point it was silly.  Everyone was calling for it.  But Stearns kept him down there.  And yes, there were developmental reasons to keep him at Syracuse, but the main reason was Stearns never really felt a playoff spot was in danger.  He believed the team he put together was better than it was, and he didn't realize it until it was too late.  That's why he panicked in September, and called up a clearly not ready Jonah Tong.  You don't think that hurt his development?  Stearns didn't realize until it was too late.

Jeff McNeil.  The most obvious example of his hubris was dumping McNeil.  Whatever you may think of the clubhouse, there was no reason to dump Jeff McNeil and pay for him to play elsewhere.  He is a good quality major league hitter, and he would be the second best hitter on this 2026 team.  Stearns felt so good about the roster he put together he decided he didn't need Jeff McNeil.  And let's say hypothetically, that Jeff was reviled in the clubhouse.  Everyone hated him.  That still wouldn't be enough reason to dump him.  Not with this team.  By this time, Stearns should have realized that the teams he puts together don't have any margin for error.  They don't have the luxury of dumping a good quality hitter with positional versatility.  But he decided he didn't need Jeff.

Carlos Mendoza.  But all this aside, the biggest, most glaring example of Stearns ego is Carlos Mendoza.  I agree Mendoza is not the biggest problem ailing the Mets, but by now, we can see he's not part of the solution.  In game missteps aside, a manager that gets this little out of the talent in the dugout is not the right fit.  The Red Sox cut bait.  So did the Phillies.  There's no reason not to fire Mendoza.  You're in last place.  The offense is the worst in baseball.  At worst, a new manager will result in just more of the same.  You can't fall into laster place.  The only reason we are keeping Mendoza is Stearns doesn't want to admit he's the wrong fit.  He doesn't want to admit it was a mistake to bring him back in 2026, and it's a mistake to bring him back now.

By this point, the proudest man in the world should be falling on his sword.  Firing Mendoza.  Admitting we have to try something else.  Taking a look at all of the organizational philosophy.  Acknowledging that if every single player is falling below expectations, it's time to re-examine what they might be doing as a club that leads to this.  Nothing.  Stick to the line.  Things will get better.  Same bullshit we've been hearing since June 2025.

Once 2026 concludes, it will have been three years, over a billion dollars in payroll, and in none of those seasons will the Mets have even contended for the division.  And the team president refuses to do anything different.  

[Benjamin Grimm]

The thing that complicates this, in my opinion, is that relatively few of Stearns' moves looked bad at the time he made them. (Nimmo for Semien did, but few others.) The trade for Ryan Helsley was a disaster, but bolstering the bullpen when he did looked like a smart move. Tyler Rogers worked out, Giovanni Soto didn't, but less was expected of him. Helsley was a good trade that turned out badly. Another mistake was in not finding a better replacement for Pete Alonso. The Braves lost Freddie Freeman and replaced him with Matt Olson. The Mets had plenty of time to find someone better than Jorge Polanco, but didn't. I'm not sure I can point to too many mistakes beyond those. The mid-season turnaround in 2024 showed what Stearns is capable of. The mid-season turnaround in 2025 showed that he's not bullet-proof. I say the Mets might as well give Stearns a chance to turn 2026 into another 2024. I don't think he can, but we might as well find out.

[Benjamin Grimm]

My message above was submitted before I read Centerfield's post. He did mention a few blunders that I overlooked.

[Benjamin Grimm]

And, I have to say, if the Mets end up flipping Peralta for some mid-level prospect, it will be a very bad look because that (hypothetical) mediocre return would have essentially cost the Mets two of their better prospects in Sproat and Williams. 

[MFS62]

YABBUTTT  run prevention.

(ducking)

Later

[Cowtipper]

He just comes off as a little know-it-all-ish and when you're that young and in charge of a big league team, of course you're gonna be cocky. 

[Gwreck]

 

2 hours ago, Centerfield said:

Admitting we have to try something else.  Taking a look at all of the organizational philosophy.  Acknowledging that if every single player is falling below expectations, it's time to re-examine what they might be doing as a club that leads to this.  Nothing.  Stick to the line.  Things will get better.  Same bullshit we've been hearing since June 2025.

Aside from Mendoza — isn’t this exactly what happened between 2025 and 2026?  Coaching staff was changed top to bottom.  Massive changes in the clubhouse.  Big new free agents coming in, other longstanding players leaving.  That is not at all a stick-to-the-line approach.

I agree Mendoza should be fired (and should have been fired several weeks ago).   And sure, Paul Blackburn sucked (I agree), but he was something like the #9 starter entering 2025, and the few million bucks he got from the Mets were a rounding error for the team/Cohen.  I also don’t think JD Martinez was half as good on the field as you credit him for.

I find myself sympathetic to Stearns’ situation because:

(1) he came into a team that had just gone through 5 GMs in the prior 7 seasons, and for the 7 or 8 seasons prior to that had been on an austerity budget.  That’s a long time for an organization to be run badly.   Seems logical that it’s pretty hard to develop an organizational philosophy, improve talent evaluation/ development/ etc. with constant turnover.  

(2) Plenty of success with Milwaukee.  I suspect I’d have less patience if he didn’t have a track record.

(3) Stearns has mostly been handing a roster that others built.  The 2024 team largely existed before he showed up (and, if Stearns is getting dinged for Blackburn or Martinez, he has to also get credit for singing Jose Iglesias to a minor league deal and having him available — the singular change that saved the 2024 season in my view).  The 2025 team was a mix of Stearns acquisitions and old-guard, and by 2026 it’s actually his team.  

(4) Stearns didn’t make Bichette bad, Lindor bad/hurt, or Soto hurt. 

 

[Radar]

2 hours ago, Benjamin Grimm said:

My message above was submitted before I read Centerfield's post. He did mention a few blunders that I overlooked.

Almost every move he's made at this point looks bad. The problem last year essentially was not run defense. It was pitching. We had one of the best run offenses. So he got rid of Nimmo, Alonzo and McNeil niether, in my opinion were the problem. Now we can't score and our defense is not better and probably worse. Pitching has been good enough to where if we still had the departed players he jettisoned we would likely not be where we are now.

[MFS62]

As Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth".

I hope Stearns has a good dentist, because his bicuspids have been taking a beating,

Put the lineups of this year's team next to the lineup of last year's team and ask yourself which one looks stronger. I'd bet most fans would pick the 2025 lineup.

Whatever plan he has doesn't look like its working.

Later

 

[Centerfield]

To be clear about my issues with Stearns, it's not just the poor results.  Any GM/POBO will have their share of them.  It's that after 3 years of watching him, I think he works with the presumption that he's smarter than anyone else, and that the product he's created is better than it is.  It's an unwillingness to bend or adjust on his principles.

With JD Martinez, he didn't think his team needed more offense.  It did.  And he didn't consider that the protracted negotiations would prevent a veteran hitter from getting a regular spring training and missing a month of the season.  The additional money is, as you call it, a rounding error.  The 2024 Mets had no room for error, as we all saw.  They were one Lindor HR from missing the playoffs.  Stearns thought his team had more room for error than it did.

Similarly, as the season was falling apart in 2025, he didn't call up McLean or Sproat, and chose instead to run Blackburn, and Hagenmen and all the other scrubs out there because he never really thought missing the playoffs was a possibility.  Even after nearly missing the playoffs in 2024.  He plays with a self-imagined safety net that he doesn't have.

And this year, despite everyone in the world knowing that Carlos Mendoza isn't the answer, he continues to stick with him.  We all know it was a mistake to bring him back.  Stearns refuses to admit it.  And I don't think that this 2026 team is close enough to competing that keeping Mendoza or firing him will make a difference.  But if Stearns really believes this team can bounce back, it certainly doesn't have the luxury of overcoming Mendoza.  You lose absolutely nothing by changing the manager.  Why wouldn't you try something else?

As for changing out the coaches, this is less concrete so I didn't cite it in my initial post.  I believe, without any real evidence, that Stearns has instilled a hitting philosophy into this organization that is detrimental for major league hitters.  In my mind, this is the only explanation for the prolonged underperformance, that seems to have plagued everyone.  Literally every Met is underperforming.  You can cite injury all you want, when the injured guys were playing, they were terrible too.  I know Eric Chavez was at odds with the Stearns approach, and as much of an asshole he has proven to be, I'm starting to think he may have been the only one keeping the offense at the level it was.  How else can you explain these putrid numbers.

I think Stearns never thought to himself "Hey maybe my approach sucks".  I think he thought "let me bring in new coaches who will teach my approach better".  And I think what we're seeing is the result.  Again, I can't prove any of this.  But I'm at a loss to come up with another reason why an entire roster of players suddenly can't hit.

I was ecstatic when Stearns was hired.  A rich owner with a smart executive has been all I've been asking for since I can remember.  It's incredibly frustrating to see this team plunge to where it is now.  

I think David Stearns lacks the self reflection necessary to succeed in this failure-based business.  I know it's dysfunctional to fire a POBO mid-season, but I just can't imagine letting him handle another trade deadline.  

 

[metsmarathon]

What do you think actually is the David stearns offensive approach, because whatever the Mets are doing right now, it’s nothing like what I’m used to seeing from the brewers. 

[The Hot Corner]

A look and my personal take on the effectiveness of said acquisitions.    

• Luis Robert Jr. has appeared in 24 of 40 games & is on the IL with no time table for his return.  Not making the bounce back hoped for.
• Jorge Polanco has appeared in 14 of 40 games & is still on the IL with no time table for his return.  Small sample size, but not providing much when on the field.
• Mike Tauchman has yet to appear in a game following a spring training injury to his left knee.  Currently recuperating from surgery with hopes of reinstating baseball activities in late June or early July.
• Bo Bichette has at least been healthy.  Like most of the Mets line up, he is not performing to level anticipated at his signing.  Looks like a very expensive 1 year rental.
• Devin Williams has been available.  Poor start, but is showing signs of life of late.  Has allowed only 1 hit & 0 walks with 6 Ks and most importantly no runs allowed over his last 5 outings (4.2 innings).
• Luke Weaver has remained healthy.  Overall, his numbers haven't been too bad.  He had a few rough outings, but overall his numbers haven't been too bad.
• Marcus Semien - Playing solid defense at second base, but his best days are far in the past offensively.  Like the majority of the roster he is hitting for a low average with low OBP and SLG.  
• Luis Garcia - Made 6 appearances too many (6.1 IP w/ 7.11 ERA & 2.053 WHIP) before release.  Pitching even worse for the Twins.
• Freddy Peralta - Has pitched well enough (43.1 IP w/ 3.12 ERA & 1.200 WHIP), but only averaging 4.2 innings per start.  Not a true ace, but a solid #2 starter.
• Tobias Myers - Has been a pleasant surprise.  Had rough outing recently against the Rockies, but overall he has pitched well (24.2 IP w/ 3.28 ERA & 1.014 WHIP).
• Joey Gerber - Made 1 appearance, pitched 2 effective innings, then left with a blister.  Pitching in AAA Syracuse.
• Carl Edwards Jr. - Made 2 appearances and in a small sample size pitched better than most of the Mets staff (2 games, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA & 1.167 WHIP).  Elected to become a minor league FA when the Mets failed to appreciate his work.
• Vidal Brujan - Getting what we should have expected.  He has never been a good hitter and shows no evidence that he is now.  

There was too much offense that left (via FA & trades) and far too little brought in to replace it, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Mets are dead last in MLB in OBP, SLG, OPS, and next to last in runs.  Which of course leads to last in wins.  

In the end, you are judged on your job performance based on results and this year the results are very poor.

[Centerfield]

1 hour ago, metsmarathon said:

What do you think actually is the David stearns offensive approach, because whatever the Mets are doing right now, it’s nothing like what I’m used to seeing from the brewers. 

I don't know.  Like I said, this part is purely speculation.  It's been widely reported that the Mets have the lowest OPS in the major leagues against fastballs.  I saw it reported in one outlet (though I can't remember who, and can't find it now) that they were above the MLB average on off-speed pitches.  This suggests that perhaps the Mets are not going up with the mindset to attack fastballs.

We know that striking out less was a stated goal of this organization in the off-season.  And to that end, they've been incredibly successful.  They are fourth in MLB in fewest strikeouts (MIL is 3rd).  The problem is that in addition to not striking out, they're also not walking (27th in MLB)(MIL is 4th). 

 The Mets are also among the league's worst in pitches per AB, which is partly why all these scrub pitchers not only throw their best game against us, but also go deeper than they otherwise do.

My guess is that there is such an emphasis on not striking out, that we are getting beat by fastballs, and making contact early in counts against the pitches that pitchers want us to be swinging at.  

[duan]

I think the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and if on 30th September or whatever we are not in the playoffs I find it hard to believe that Stearns will be retained - unless he's gone to Cohen in July with the "here's my plan for 2027-31" and Cohen believes in it and they extract value from 'the assets' that they have in preparation. 
I should have remembered how non-plussed I was by the Luis Robert acquisition - not that Luisangel Acuna was worth much - but just that it was a $20 million (40 odd if you count the luxury tax) bet that I didn't see a great chance of hitting. 
 

[Benjamin Grimm]

I know. Based on the rumor mill, the Mets had been interested in Robert for a long time. I didn't really believe it, because he didn't seem like someone worth Jonesing over, but I guess it was true. Some of the rumors had the Mets giving up quite a bit more than Luisangel Acuna, so at least they didn't do that.

[Edgy MD]

If you can convince yourself that the chance Cedric Mullins could help is worth giving up Raimon Gómez, Chandler Marsh, and Anthony Nunez, you can convince yourself that the chance Luis Robert could help is worth giving up Truman Pauley and Luisangel Acuña.

Nonetheless, I don't think David Stearns is going anywhere at least until the end of the year.

And even then, if they miss the playoffs, I don't think he get let go if the trend lines are doing well.  He's not going to be judged on Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert.  The team the Mets started the season with are placeholders.  The guys pushing them out of the way are his real project.

[Centerfield]

I thought LRJ had upside and was worth a roll of the dice. If nothing else he was an upgrade over Taylor. It’s the type of move you make with the intention of batting him ninth. If you get offense, great. If he gets hurt again, you’re only down your 9 hitter. 
 

The problem was the other moves resulted in him being our 3rd or 4th best hitter. 

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I don't there is any chance that Stearns gets fired. I don't think he should. 

I do think Snitker the hitting coach could maybe be out of a job.

I also wonder if the PBO needs a GM working under him so he could focus on PBO things. I'm not entirely sure how different those worlds are. 

[metirish]

 

 

 

 

[The Hot Corner]

He is apparently an optimist that sees "the glass half full" . 

He definitely sees a greater level of talent wearing Mets uniforms than I do when I watch this tem.