David Stearns is already being questioned by fans.
David Stearns was unstoppable as soon as he joined the group. If you want to twist the facts, it is still somewhat the case. Based on his offseason activities, it appears that he has only made wise decisions for the New York Mets.
However, you can’t just get by with folding the clothes, washing the dishes, and putting out the garbage in a relationship. Even the most happy marriages can fail very quickly if you’ve stopped holding hands, won’t acknowledge your partner’s feelings, or are prioritizing your coworkers with questionable backgrounds over your family.
A welcome addition to the Mets organization was Stearns. With a larger budget and little commercial success, he was guaranteed a spectacular offseason. The Mets would be unbeatable thanks to his intelligence and Steve Cohen’s financial resources. They are haltable. The honeymoon period has ended.
With David Stearns, the honeymoon period is already over.
Although the Mets have had a strong start to the offseason, how will it end? He still has a ton of opportunities, therefore he can’t be criticised just yet.
The first, and perhaps little, setback was the lack of tenacity in signing Shohei Ohtani. The umpire gave the pitcher a called strike. Ohtani never showed any interest in visiting the Mets. It is unfair to hold Stearns, Cohen, or anybody else responsible for the lack of pursuit.
The Mets score their second run when they crush a deep fly ball that veers just feet wide of the foul pole. The Los Angeles Dodgers were selected by Yoshinobu Yamamoto over them, which is how this happened. The Mets did their absolute best. It simply landed foul.
To indicate “strike three,” a fictitious umpire points forward and then retracts his arm. Why? Lucas Giolito was not signed by the Mets. The only thing the Mets could have done with a high changeup that caught them off-balance was to pop it up and pray for a collision on the pitcher’s mound.
There isn’t much left for those three targets, which is the issue. With Cy Young winner Blake Snell at the top and qualifying offer rejection penalties, the free agent starting pitching market appears empty. Jordan Montgomery is following him, and he will undoubtedly get paid nearly twice as much as anyone could have expected a year ago.
Stearns performed admirably with his decisions. It didn’t seem like a cost to make the smart trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Luis Guillorme versus Joey Wendle? For just a million dollars, Michael Tonkin? Although Luis Severino may not be to everyone’s taste, $14 million for a season was obviously a reasonable market value for him.
Because of what Stearns hasn’t done, a sizable percentage of the fan base has moved on. The starting pitching staff still raises a lot of questions. The bullpen appears terrifying. With the addition of a legitimate DH and an outfielder this offseason, the Mets can reclaim some relevance.
For what they’ve done, the Mets’ offseason has gone well. They even hung up some new picture frames in addition to taking out the garbage and folding laundry. They haven’t painted the bedroom or fixed the cabinet door that is broken in their marriage. Our current residence with Stearns is pleasant enough, but there are just too many spots where it feels like you could sink through the floor if you were carrying a big grocery bag.