Steve Cohen made a public statement when he took full ownership of the club that if the Mets didn’t win a championship in five (5) years that it would be a major disappointment. The Mets did NOT win a championship in that five-year period, which concluded at the end of the 2025 season. But, to be honest, Cohen did not have all of his pieces that HE wanted in place from the beginning. And the biggest piece he wanted was Mr. Stearns.
Stearns came in after creating a nice little organization in Milwaukee. After years of floundering, the Brewers became competitive and relative. And they had some nice seasons with some great performances from some really good players. But, in reality, it didn’t amount to anything. There were no championships. There was no breaking of a curse like the Boston Red Sox in 2004 under Theo Epstein or the Chicago Cubs in 2016 under, again, Theo Epstein.
Stearns said from the beginning that the Mets needed to get younger. I don’t disagree with that. They needed to get more athletic. I don’t disagree with that. That they needed to get better defensively. I don’t disagree with that either.
Stearns took a hard stand with Pete Alonso’s free agency status after the 2024 season. I really didn’t disagree with that strictly based on Alonso’s 2024 season. But after Alonso had what was probably his best all-around season, Stearns low-balled Alonso based on the actual market. Although it seems like Baltimore was the only team to make a significant offer. Bottom line, Stearns let Alonso walk.
Stearns dumped Jeff McNeil for a 17-year-old pitching prospect and $5.75 million. He traded Brandon Nimmo for an aging Marcus Semien in a swap of bad contracts, that’s all it was.
And then there is Edwin Diaz. What the thought was behind that is anyone’s guess. But the best guess is that there WAS NO thought to it and Diaz took the opportunity to go to what is thought to be, right now, the most dominant organization in Major League Baseball. And you can’t blame him for that.
All of that being said, while I thought the Alonso and Diaz decisions (or non-decisions) were not favorable, I could actually understand it all if I am trying to be objective. The team didn’t win with those four guys, they were getting older, the risk vs. the reward was not in favor of the Mets, and it was time to move on.
Fine…move on. Let’s get younger. Let’s get more athletic. Let’s get better defensively. But ARE the Mets younger? ARE they more athletic? ARE they better defensively?
The answer is a collective: NO!
Bo Bichette is a poor shortstop TRYING to play third base. Mark Vientos is a bad third baseman TRYING to play first base. Brett Baty, the best third baseman on the team, is TRYING to play right field. Jorge Polanco, a middle infielder, is TRYING to LEARN to play first base. Luis Robert Jr. was supposed to be a Gold Glove centerfielder has been fooled on a number of fly balls. Carson Benge, the rookie, is the team’s best centerfielder, is playing the corner outfield positions the majority of the time and has had a tough time with the angles. The pitching, with the exception of Nolan McLean, has been inconsistent and has already put a burden on the bullpen which is overworked already and the Syracuse Shuttle is about to start its run.
Worst of all is the lack of offense. And it has nothing to do with the absence of Alonso. Or the injury to Juan Soto. Or the annual slow start of Francisco Lindor. It’s the approach. What exactly IS the approach? Maybe the analytics guys should stop the nonsense and everyone should go back to “see the ball…hit the ball.”
The reality is that this team is again constructed poorly. The objectives as stated multiple times by David Stearns has not only not been met, he has done exactly the same thing that he criticized his predecessors for – fielding a team that is poor defensively, is not very athletic in that they CAN’T play out of their natural positions, and that the team is NOT really any younger than the roster was the year before.
So Stearns didn’t meet his objectives with this team. Cohen certainly didn’t meet HIS objectives with this team.
And they are just not an enjoyable watch…that’s for sure. The A’s, the White Sox, and the Rockies…they are more entertaining at this point. What does THAT tell you?
