As the Mets prepare to be sellers at the trade deadline, president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke with the media as he does every home stand. He discussed about the state of the organization, the Mets’ 2026 draft, the deadline, and the organizational goals going forward.
Before he spoke to the media, interim manager Andy Green also briefly spoke. Later on, Stearns reiterated that Green plans to return to the front office at the end of the season.
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Trade Deadline
Stearns discussed how disappointed he is with how the season has gone and that they will be selling at the deadline. He mentioned that the level of underperformance comes more likely from multiple issues that have compounded than one specific issue and they continue to evaluate and adapt.
Stearns continued, “This process will continue to be an ongoing process and I believe we will get better through this. There are also some elements that I believe we are doing well under the surface but as I have said before at the end of the day we are judged by major league wins and our major league record has not been good enough for a full year now and I am very much aware of that.”
Stearns said that they need to be open-minded on whether or not they will move players under control past the 2026 season. The goal of this deadline is to set up the team to contend in 2027.
Stearns mentioned that every deadline moves at its own pace and there are active discussions happening across the industry. The closer the deadline is the more talks accelerate, and each year many deals happen close to the end of the deadline. He mentioned that there is a clump of teams that have yet to decide if they will buy, sell or hold.
Stearns mentioned that the upcoming CBA negotiations have not seemed to impact the discussions at the deadline and so far it has been business as usual.
Green mentioned that it is normal to let the stress of whether or not they may be moved at the trade deadline is human nature and he ensures to them he is a resource for them.
Stearns said the Mets are open to look for major league players under control past 2026 if they become available.
Francisco Lindor
Stearns, when asked if Lindor could be moved, said, “I am not going to rule out or in any specific player on anything. I don’t think that is wise for me to do. What I will say is that we have some young players and some future hall of famers that we view as our core and we expect them to be our core.”
When asked about Francisco Alvarez, he gave a similar answer that no one is untouchable.
Mets’ Farm
The Mets have graduated multiple highly-ranked prospects that have joined the major league club, performed, and are part of the young core Stearns mentioned. There are prospects that have hit bumps in the road in their development, but Stearns said that is not unusual. Many good major leaguers have hit bumps in their development and he believes in the Mets’ development team as well as the prospects’ drive to succeed.
When looking at the returns for the farm, Stearns said they will not prioritize any specific player profile or players at any specific level as the return, and instead will be looking for the best return available. They will stay open-minded and make decisions based on what players become available.
The Rotation
Stearns mentioned that they have multiple young starters in the majors who have performed and are very excited about for the future. In the minors, they have multiple arms that they view as part of the future in the near-term while they also have some well-regarded arms that have hit speed bumps. He also mentioned that they will likely need to supplement those arms either through trades or free agency.
The Lineup
This is the first time we have seen the Mets go through an extended period where the lineup has been as intended with their core pieces off the injured list and in the lineup together. When asked if he felt that the lineup has had a fair shake as to what it was supposed to look like and if there was enough runway to judge, Stearns responded, “I don’t know that it matters,” and continued to say thats it is clear, “the lineup on the field has not been good enough,” and discussed how it is understood players will get injured. It is on the front office to have enough depth to work around that, and the group that they have had out there has not won enough games.
On Scouting
Stearns stated that there are more scouts overall in baseball than when he first started, but that their role looks different than in the past. Video scouting has become far more prevalent across the board and that helps guide when to utilize in-person scouting. He discussed the value of both video and in-person scouting and how they work together.
Player Injuries
Green said that Juan Soto feels fully healthy and him playing designated hitter in the upcoming game was more to get the other outfielders work together.
On Clay Holmes, Green said that he felt great after his rehab start and that he is ready to return to the majors. The team has not decided on next steps yet and will make that decision after his next side session. He did mention that typically they prefer to see a starter get over 60 pitches before returning to the majors. Stearns also declined to comment on any extension discussions.
