From Pete Alonso‘s impending free agency, to Brett Baty‘s role to what comes next for a pitching staff in flux, president of baseball operations David Stearns fielded a variety of questions at an “end of season” news conference Wednesday at Citi Field. Of course, he wished the gathering took place a bit later.

“Whenever the season ends, it’s not a lot of fun,” he said. “It stings. It still stings for me right now and it will for a little while and it should. That means we care about it. That means we’re doing something important. That means we made it far enough for it to really hurt.”

Stearns said the Mets’ resilience in battling from 11 games below .500 in June to within two wins of the World Series will serve the organization well moving forward, but he warned that nothing is guaranteed.

“I also am keenly aware that nothing is predetermined,” he said. “Our success this year does not mean anything for our success next year. We’ve got work to do.”

The 39-year-old and his team are ready to get started.

“We feel like we’re in a really good spot and we’re ready to go and we are eager to build off of this and create the type of sustained competitiveness that this organization deserves, that our fan base deserves and that we believe is attainable.”

Pete Alonso, Free Agent

“He’s a great Met,” Stearns said. “I hope we have him back. I think we both understand this is a process and everyone’s got their own interests. And Pete deserves to go out into the free agent market and see what’s out there and ultimately make the best choice for him and his family.”

Stearns said he hasn’t yet talked contract with the 29-year-old first baseman.

“Pete and I frankly have never really talked about his contract face-to-face,” he said. “Those conversations are best left generally with a player’s representative. But Pete and I talked about the team plenty. He’s very invested in our group. Certainly was very invested in this team this year. And obviously got some enormous hits for us down the stretch.”

He declined to speculate on whether Mark Vientos could move to first base if Alonso signed elsewhere: “I think we cross that bridge when or if we come to it.”

Starting Pitching

Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are free agents and Sean Manaea is expected to opt out of his contract, making him a free agent as well. That is three-fifths of the rotation.

“This isn’t new to us,” Stearns said. “We faced a similar task last offseason. We’re going to have to replace innings. Certainly a part of that could potentially be from some of those guys returning or we may look elsewhere. But we’re going to have to add starting pitching, we’re going to have to add multiple starters. We understand that. We went into last offseason with the same need and I think we’ll be able to do it.”

Asked about Manaea, he said: “Sean’s been great here. And not only on the field but off the field as well. Another player that would be great to have back.”

He also said David Peterson, José Buttó and Tylor Megill could all be starters or relievers next year and that those roles could change as the season goes on.

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Offseason Spending

“We’ve got financial flexibility,” Stearns said. “It means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us. That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces. We also have to recognize that we want to set up our organizational patterns so that we can invest in free agency, invest where we think we need to complement the club on an annual basis.

“We have a lot of money coming off the books. I would expect us to spend some of that, a good portion of that, to complement our team, to improve our team heading into next year. We’re also not going to do anything that hamstrings us in future years and prevents us from continually adding, supplementing to our core group.”

A year ago, the Mets made one big attempt at a big, long-term signing, going after Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who ultimately went to the Dodgers. Would the Mets take a similar approach again?

“I don’t know,” Stearns said. “I think it’s too early to determine exactly where we’re going to take our shots. And so we’ll continue to evaluate that plan and that path as we move through the offseason.”

Stearns added that he couldn’t say where the payroll would land.

A Role for Brett Baty

Baty was the Opening Day third baseman, but essentially ended up switching places with Vientos, who started the year in the minors, by the end of the season. What is Baty’s role moving forward?

“I think that’s to be determined,” Stearns said. “We still have a very high opinion of Brett. I think he is a player who continues to develop his versatility, ability to play multiple positions. And it’s probably tough right now, and frankly maybe even tough at spring training, to to know exactly where it’s going to fit.

“But he’s a very talented player and as we saw this year talented players can step up and take advantage of opportunities when they come and become big parts of our team.”

More Winker?

“Wink did a great job for us,” he said, adding that he was good with playing a little more outfield than he had been in Washington and with coming off the bench when a lefty started. The 31-year-old is also a free agent.

“I appreciate the fire,” Stearns said. “I think our fan base appreciated the fire. Another player who contributed to our team and who we will certainly stay in touch with.”