How does David Stearns' offseason look now?
None of us are happy with a 22-28 record here in the third week of May. Yet it seems like there’s more optimism around the Mets than there was at the end of April, when they were 10-21. The offense has gotten out of the mud and the bullpen has remained strong. The biggest worry right now is the starting pitching, which shows you how much can change in a month.
Many people were calling for David Stearns’ scalp three weeks ago and that seems to have died down some. The improved hitting of Carson Benge, along with the recent production of Bo Bichette, makes Stearns’ moves for 2026 look not so awful. And the decision to promote A.J. Ewing has worked out better than anyone had a right to expect.
It’s not just the offense. Freddy Peralta has a 2.60 ERA in his last five starts. Tobias Myers, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams have all been mostly very good, with each of the trio having one bad outing that is skewing their overall results. Plus, the decision to remove Sean Manaea from the rotation was a plus. The jury is out on Kodai Senga, who’s getting ready to do a rehab start. Hopefully Stearns has learned from a year ago and will make Senga complete multiple rehab appearances before bringing him back to the majors.
Assuming Bichette’s recent play is indicative of a rebound, there seems to be just two offseason additions that are blowing up in Stearns’ face. There’s the signing of Jorge Polanco and the trade for Marcus Semien. The acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. doesn’t quite reach that same level for me. While I expected better from Robert, he wasn’t the drag on the offense that the other two are/were. Plus, it got Luisangel Acuna off the club, a positive all in itself. Acuna has a .424 OPS, even worse than he was a season ago.
Speaking of subtractions, neither Pete Alonso nor Edwin Diaz is making the Mets regret their decision not to spend gobs of money to retain them. Alonso is heating up after a dreadful start yet still has just a .744 OPS. He’ll likely end the year with a better number than that but will be hard-pressed to match 2025’s .871 OPS. And Diaz has a 10.50 ERA and has been on the IL since his last appearance on April 19.
The fans’ loyalty to Alonso made sense to me, even if I didn’t agree. But it always seemed odd how they considered Diaz to be the best reliever in baseball, when he had as many meh seasons with the Mets as dominant ones. You know, 2019, 2021 and 2024 happened, even if 2023 didn’t. Everyone wants to be cavalier with Steve Cohen’s money but the decision not to guarantee 5/$155 million to Alonso and 3/$69 to Diaz looks pretty solid here on 5/22.
At some point, Francisco Lindor will return. None of us have an idea when that will be but for sake of argument, let’s say it’s July 1. That might be optimistic. Regardless, here’s my preferred lineup for when Lindor does return:
CF Ewing
SS Lindor
LF Soto
2B Bichette
3B Baty
1B Vientos
RF Benge
DH Melendez/Taylor
C Torrens
It’s probably too optimistic to expect Francisco Alvarez to be back by July 1 but even if it wasn’t, he’d still hit ninth in this order. Maybe Benge should hit higher and there won’t be much of an argument from me if you want to flip him with Brett Baty. But the goal here was to avoid back-to-back LHB. And if a club brings in a lefty for the seventh and eighth hitters, it’s easy enough to pinch-hit for MJ Melendez.
Also, if he’s back, Polanco can be the RHB in the platoon.
It’s easy to imagine the club doing this except for one thing. Will they bench Semien and ask Bichette to play his third different position? There’s going to have to be a lot of different things to go right for that to happen, most notably being Mark Vientos continue to make strides with his fielding while also adding a tick to his hitting.
My fear is that the Mets will keep Semien at 2B, move Bichette back to 3B and platoon Baty and Vientos at 1B. Vientos has to play at a level significantly above Semien in order for that not to happen, likely even more than the 91-69 edge he currently holds in OPS+.
The trade deadline this year is at 6 p.m. on August 3. Hopefully Lindor is back by then and Vientos has shown enough to keep him as a full-time player. Then the question is if Stearns learned from last year’s deadline and goes out and gets a starting pitcher.
May the Mets play well enough to force Stearns’ hand.
Brian, this is a really strong post — especially the way you separate fan frustration from the actual roster decisions Stearns now has to make.
On Contreras/Polanco, my guess is still that Stearns preferred Contreras, but St. Louis wanted Jonah Tong and that ended the discussion.
And maybe the Nimmo-for-Semien deal was Stearns seeing the younger outfield picture earlier than most of us did. We did not all have an unequivocal view of Ewing, Benge, and Morabito at that point, and Morabito’s stock rose significantly after the Arizona Fall League.
I am also higher on Carson Benge than I expected to be this quickly. At his age, I see a three-tool player who could plausibly grow into five tools with strength and physical maturation. If the Mets reach the point of benching Semien, I would rather see Benge tested at second and Morabito in right, where Morabito’s outfield defense matters.
The larger roster question is how the Mets fit Morabito, Ewing, Benge, Soto, and whatever else Stearns builds next into the same long-term picture.
That is why the “extend Nimmo forever” sentiment always made me uneasy. Maybe his contract would have remained tradable after this season, but he would still have had four years left. A future CBA probably will not shackle the Dodgers or ball-and-chain the Mets, but grandfathering only protects contract validity. It does not guarantee trade value, defensive fit, aging-curve comfort, or roster flexibility.
Nimmo was a very good Met. But if the organization is turning toward younger athleticism and run prevention, where exactly would he have fit two or three years from now?
With Soto, Ewing, Morabito, and Benge all part of the conversation — and with the Mets still clearly ahead of Miami but not close to where they need to be — why wait until next spring to evaluate aggressively?
Alvarez is another fascinating case. Maybe he is finally starting to understand what has to change. That violent, max-effort swing may have contributed to the knee issue, and he was acquired by a previous GM. These are exactly the kinds of player-development calls Stearns has to make without sentimentality.
At some point, sentimentality becomes a roster obstacle.
Nice post and enjoyed the comments back and forth. Biggest takeaway was the wake up call that maybe, just maybe, Stearns had a plan to bring up youth and that Alonso is not quite what he was and Diaz is on the shelf (that I’m thrilled about). Your proposed lineup contains a lot of young players who have talent and untapped potential. And yes, Stearns has to answer for Polanco and Semien, two disappointing whoppers.