In February of 2023, Steve Cohen, the New York Mets owner, delivered the news that Sandy Alderson would no longer be the president of Baseball Operations. On September 12th, 2023, the Mets landed David Stearns, the long-term Brewers executive, to a five-year, $50 million contract. Stearns grew up in Manhattan as a Mets Fan and an academically serious student. He took his knowledge to Boston and attended Harvard University, earning a degree in political science.
In his young professional career, Stearns served in various roles for the Pirates, Guardians (Indians at the time), Astros, and most recently, the Brewers. His impressive tenure with Milwaukee is perhaps enough to raise the spirit in the Big Apple as the Mets prepare for their 2024 campaign. With the Brewers, Stearns traded for several stars, including Chrisitan Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, and led the team to four consecutive playoff appearances. Despite the cost of players this talented, the Brewers payroll during Stearns’ time with the team was never above league average.
Though Stearns has a prestigious history, the Mets have a high ladder to climb after their disastrous ‘23 season. Their record of 75-87 led to the firing of manager Buck Showalter and likely and the resignment of General Manager Billy Eppler. Since his hiring, Stearns has acknowledged that he has “plenty of work to do,” but he assures fans he is going to “cast a wide net” and have “a real process” to upgrade the roster and the front office personnel. In addition to hoping for a successful season, Mets fans desperately desire to sign Pete Alonso as a Met for life. Stearns has already assured fans that “Pete’s an important member of this team, he’s an important member of this organization and I think we’re really fortunate to have him.”
Steve Cohen, in addition to Mets fans, has displayed his pleasure with the hiring of Stearns and his mindset so far. Cohen says that he and David think very similarly and that he is excited for the future. Stearns has expressed that it is truly incredible to end up with the team he rooted for throughout his childhood.
If Stearns can use his experience and expertise to extend Pete Alonso and land some big names on the Mets’ radar like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and perhaps even Shohei Ohtani, the Mets could be well on their way to newly-founded success next spring. Though the Mets have multiple administrative spots to fill and many players to recruit, critics’ early praise of Stearn’s goals and statements should be enough for Mets fans to trust him for the job.
