After months of speculation and years of pining, the Mets hired David Stearns to be their first President of Baseball Operations, according to Andy Martino of SNY. The five-year, $50 million contract ties him with the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman for the highest-paid candidate in this role at $10 million a year.

In Stearns, the Mets get one of the best baseball minds of the century who led the Brewers to four straight consecutive postseason appearances between 2018 and 2021. In franchise history, the Milwaukee team only made a total of four playoff runs previously. It’s a given that Steve Cohen expects the same type of progress to happen in Flushing. However, when Stearns officially begins his post come the offseason, he will face many pressing questions that will dictate the new direction of the Mets organization.

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DOES BUCK SHOWALTER STAY OR GO?

One of the very first decisions Stearns must make is whether to retain Buck Showalter, the reigning NL Manager of the Year. The skipper led the 2022 Mets to an impressive 101-61 record but came up short against the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round. He’s faced scrutiny in 2023 over bullpen management in close games and blowouts but has had to answer the most questions over roster construction. He penciled in slumping players, hoping they’d work through it while benching players sporadically after hot games. The result? It’s a losing record for the highest payroll in baseball and a stark contrast to last season.

The fate of Showalter should be the first question Stearns faces. Should he decide to clean house and start fresh with his own hand-picked bunch or pick and choose from the coaching staff who remain, the decision will set a path for the franchise.

Mike Vasil. Photo by Rick Nelson

WHAT IS THE OFFSEASON PLAN?

After the summer sell-off, rumors began to swirl regarding the competitive status of the Mets. Are they retooling for 2025/2026 or planning to make a go for it in 2024? Both general manager Billy Eppler and Steve Cohen assured the Mets would remain competitive next year, but the question for Stearns is what that level of competitiveness looks like.

Do they plan to spend heavily on the pitching market or look within the organization at their young prospects like Blade Tidwell, Mike Vasil, and Christian Scott as rotation options? With Kodai Senga and José Quintana the only guarantees, Stearns must address the rotation and bullpen.

While Steve Cohen has walked back on his, “World Series in five years or bust” statements after this season, the Mets must decide what the new spinoff of this vision is. Stearns will be at the forefront of that conversation and should help dictate that vision.

WILL THEY EXTEND OR TRADE PETE ALONSO?

One of the biggest question marks of the second half of the 2023 campaign has been regarding All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso and his future in Queens. With 2024 the last before he can test free agency, will the front office give the slugger an extension? Or will they gauge the trade market and see what the interest is like for him? Extending him feels like a no-brainer, but if the Mets shift to competing once more in a couple of years, they might just let him walk.

If that were to happen, it’s not hard to wonder if someone like Jeff McNeil could be next. Even though he signed an extension in the offseason, nobody feels quite safe in this new, uncharted territory.

HOW CAN THE FARM SYSTEM GET BETTER?

An intriguing to-do on Stearns’ list is how he will address the development of future Mets. Cohen’s goal, notoriously, has always been to emulate what Friedman has done with the Dodgers and have a constant rotating crop of exciting and promising prospects. Stearns has done this with the Brewers, albeit on a tighter budget, through trades, drafts, and investing in resources to further player development.

Luisangel Acuña, Photo by Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Stearns has a plethora of up-and-coming Mets at both ends of the farm system, some ready to break out as soon as Spring 2024. He must work with Cohen and other upper brass to implement proper tools and programs that further player development. Stearns is coming into a brand-new pitching lab, but don’t expect that to be the end of it, but rather the beginning.

Of note about Stearns: he’s openly admitted in the past to mistakes in trades, for example, the best case being the 2022 shocker that sent closer Josh Hader to San Diego. Steve Cohen is not one to shy away from the truth either, which makes this pairing a match made in heaven.