Question of the week: Are you ready to be done with Stearns?

[Brock Beauchamp]

On paper, this Mets team should be right in the thick of things, both in the division and certainly the Wild Card. Given the massive underperformance of the roster this season, what is your opinion on the future of David Stearns?

[MFS62]

You betcha' I am.

Later

[Edgy MD]

As almost always, it depends on the alternative.

[ashie62]

I don't think Stearns is going anywhere but I might question his hiring

[metirish]

I think he's here for a while yet,  Cohen waited for him and I would think Stearns has through next season at least 

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

No way he's going anywhere, but Buster Olney pointed out yesterday that Steve Cohen could come out and say that to end a lot of speculation.

The discussion pointed to insiders saying the team has been unlucky with injuries -- especially Lindor and Soto and Holmes -- and guys who are underperforming, like Bichette and Manaea. 

Polanco and Robert being injured shouldn't come as a surprise. They were critical of the Polanco signing, saying it was an overpay from the start, and said Robert all along was just a placeholder for whenever Ewing was ready.

[Cowtipper]

I am not ready, I love David Stearns. 

[Centerfield]

I’m done with David Stearns. He’s had three years of $300M+ payrolls and never sniffed a division race. Never won 90 games. Team getting worse each year. 
 

This year’s team is 29th in MLB in OPS. 26th in runs scored. A combination of bad roster construction and somehow getting the worst of the guys we have here. That second part is the biggest problem. 
 

I think he’s smart. And if he acknowledged such failures and talked about re-examining the system he’s instituted to see why this is happening, I’d be ok with riding it out to see what happens. But he doesn’t. He talks about staying the course. Doubling down with Mendoza. Insisting that his way will eventually work out. 
 

“The players need to perform”

Yes David. But why aren’t they performing?  And what are you doing that’s preventing that from happening?

[Cowtipper]

Just joking. He has to go. He was given a blank check and all the money in the world and multiple seasons in a row he's given us vastly underwhelming clubs. 2024 was supposed to be underwhelming, too, but they exceeded all expectations. He's calling the transactional shots. He's built the team that's given us this embarrassing mess. He's gotta go. 

[Radar]

Probably one of few that didn't care for him from beginning. From his introduction he's come across as an arrogant person and as they say pride comes before the fall. And quite frankly I have questions about our owner as well.

[Edgy MD]

On 6/15/2026 at 8:01 PM, Cowtipper said:

He was given a blank check and all the money in the world and multiple seasons in a row he's given us vastly underwhelming clubs.

Well, a blank check and all the money in the world are the same thing.  But beyond that, the team has made clear (at least to me) that there certainly is a ceiling on what they want to spend.  The league has put penalties on spending over a certain amount, and the Mets seem to believe that minimizing those penalties has greater value than the talent they can buy by shooting past them.

With regard to arrogance, in the post above, I have no reason to believe he is more or less arrogant than the mean when it comes to baseball executives.

[Centerfield]

Stearns press conference basically reinforces what I’ve been saying is his biggest flaw. 
 

His answers, more or less, were that we have good players and ultimately they have to perform. When asked about his coaches he says he’s pleased with their performance. 
 

He completely dismisses the idea that poor performance this widespread suggests a flaw in the organizational philosophy. It couldn’t be him. Couldn’t be his coaches. He just needs more time. 
 

If he showed any ability to learn from mistakes I’d be open to keeping him. But he doesn’t. I don’t think we can begin to recover until he is gone. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

He's been a tremendous disappointment, especially since the Mets farted around for two or three years waiting for him to be available. And on top of that, they got better results by farting around.

 

[MFS62]

On 6/15/2026 at 8:01 PM, Cowtipper said:

and multiple seasons in a row he's given us vastly underwhelming clubs. 

I first read that as underwhelming duds. 

Both right.

Later

[Radar]

On 6/17/2026 at 7:50 PM, Edgy MD said:

Well, a blank check and all the money in the world are the same thing.  But beyond that, the team has made clear (at least to me) that there certainly is a ceiling on what they want to spend.  The league has put penalties on spending over a certain amount, and the Mets seem to believe that minimizing those penalties has greater value than the talent they can buy by shooting past them.

With regard to arrogance, in the post above, I have no reason to believe he is more or less arrogant than the mean when it comes to baseball executives.

Ok. I'll amend my post to rather than arrogant to he's very humble and sucks.😂

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I think the Mets should demote Stearns to Binghamton, have him make a few trades in the Eastern League before considering a recall

[smg58]

The odd thing about Stearns is that I could understand moving on from Alonso and Nimmo, where he seems to have taken the most heat.  I don't think he took nearly enough heat for botching last year's deadline.  And if moving on from Alonso and Nimmo was about long-term sustainability, the Peralta deal was dopey.  (And if he's as over-obsessed with analytics as he's made out to be, he'd have known that Peralta is a 3.50-3.80 ERA pitcher who got lucky last year.)  And I think it's now clear that he wasn't the brains behind the Brewers' successes.  The Brewers are the best team, or second only to the Phillies, at getting sustainably good pitching.  To say that we've seen none of that is a major understatement.

[ashie62]

I'm pining for Billy Eppler

[smg58]

Our GM choices post-Minaya have comically underwhelmed, other than Sandy Alderson (who was basically the league's idea).  And even Minaya started making head-shaking decisions post 2006, just like Steve Phillips did post-2000.  I think GMs that have shown success often have a use-by date, which may well be the problem with Stearns.  Maybe instead of bringing in a hotshot big name, we should find a young person who's worked for a good GM but has a better idea for how to move forward.

[Lefty Specialist]

Kind of amazing no one's been fired yet.  But this team was put together, like so many Mets teams have, on a bunch of 'ifs'.

If they stay healthy and have good seasons we'll be in the thick of it. (Polanco, Senga)

If he bounces back to his old form (Roberts, Manaea, Semien)....

If they're not as bad as they seemed last year (Peterson, Vientos)

If they just play up to the back of their baseball card (Soto, Lindor, Bichette, Peralta)

These were all 'ifs' calculated by the POBO.  They all pretty much went south.  So it's on him.

 

I think for Uncle Steve, this year is a sunk cost.  They're not turning it around, that's obvious.  So sell off what parts you can and Roto-Rooter the whole organization this winter.  There may not be baseball in 2027 anyway, which may be a blessing in disguise for this team.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I asked Google who are the best young minds in baseball. I got an AI answer, and here it is, for whatever it's worth:

The "best young minds" in MLB front offices often serve as Assistant General Managers, scouting directors, or player development heads. League consensus points to several highly-regarded executives: 

• Sam Fuld (Philadelphia Phillies): Widely respected for his tactical insights and player communication, Fuld previously served as an outfielder and is considered a top-tier mind.
• Koby Perez (Cleveland Guardians): Known for his incredible track record evaluating international talent, Perez has heavily influenced Cleveland's roster strategy.
• Daniel Adler (Seattle Mariners) / Justin Arthur (Kansas City Royals): Both are highly regarded for their mastery of baseball analytics and roster-building frameworks.
• Sarah Litchman (Boston Red Sox) / Anaheim's front office pipeline: Young executives with backgrounds in data science and baseball operations who are continually mentioned as future GM prospects.

 

[Cowtipper]

3 hours ago, ashie62 said:

I'm pining for Billy Eppler

100%. I miss the Eppler years. I was going to say in another thread yesterday that they were more fun than the Stearns years. They were underwhelming, save for 2022, but they had character, they were fun to watch. Heck, I miss the whacky Van Wagenen/Callaway years, because we weren't really expecting much from them. 

But dude, what I would do for the stability of Collins and Alderson again. That's how bad the Stearns years have been. 

[MFS62]

MLB.com announced it's updated list of top 100 prospects.

The Mets have one player - Tong - at 83, who's been getting his ass kicked at AAA.
Gee, I'm glad the owner hired Stearns to build an organization.
(sarcasm meter = 9.7)

It should also be noted that 3 rookies who were all Top 50 prospects two months ago are all showing a lot of promise in the majors in McLean, Benge and Ewing. And two more, RH Brandon Sproat and # 84 on the list Jett Williams., were traded for Peralta and Myers. But there is apparently nothing in the pipeline to replace them.

Later

[Cowtipper]

[Frayed Knot]

1 hour ago, MFS62 said:

MLB.com announced it's updated list of top 100 prospects.

The Mets have one player - Tong - at 83, who's been getting his ass kicked at AAA.
Gee, I'm glad the owner hired Stearns to build an organization.
(sarcasm meter = 9.7)

It should also be noted that 3 rookies who were all Top 50 prospects two months ago are all showing a lot of promise in the majors in McLean, Benge and Ewing. And two more, RH Brandon Sproat and # 84 on the list Jett Williams., were traded for Peralta and Myers. But there is apparently nothing in the pipeline to replace them.

Yes, that's how it goes when you trade two top prospects and promote three others within a short span, it depletes the upper tier. Building prospects, especially top tier ones, takes time so more don't just automatically pop up to replace the taken ones like some gumball machine. 

[MFS62]

38 minutes ago, Frayed Knot said:

Building prospects, especially top tier ones, takes time so more don't just automatically pop up to replace the taken ones like some gumball machine. 

Of course. But I'm not just talking about players at the major league doorstep on that list. He' s had a few years (and drafts and international signing periods) to have found some players who should be appearing at the lower levels of these lists because of their ability and/or promise. And they haven't.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

These lists ARE the elites of the moment!

The Mets started 2026 with SIX players on many of these lists, about twice that as a typical team's share (100 players, 30 teams, do the math). And, btw, does Stearns get any credit for them of only the blame (for promoting them)?

Now, when five of them reach the majors or go to other organizations (or both) between about February and May we're pissed off that no new elites have replaced them and it's nearly July already?!?! That's not how this usually works.

[MFS62]

But that's what I want - an organization so full of talent that the replacements do pop up like a gumball machine when players get promoted to the majors or leave the organization. There are some teams that have a disproportionate number of players on those lists, year after year, no matter who gets promoted or traded.

Is it a bad thing to want them to be one of those teams or be disappointed when they aren't?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

1 hour ago, MFS62 said:

There are some teams that have a disproportionate number of players on those lists, year after year, no matter who gets promoted or traded.

Which ones are those?

[MFS62]

At quick glance, Seattle has 6, LA (n)has 10, and Stearns' old Milwaukee team has 6 (but I'm not sure how many were drafted by him). Those teams, plus the MFYs and the Braves seem to dominate those lists year after year.

Don't try to dazzle me with facts.

I'm a Mets fan

The basic issue is, I still don't think Stearns has lived up to his reputation as an organization builder since he joined the Mets.

Later