In an interview with CNBC’s Alex Sherman, David Stearns spoke about Steve Cohen’s comments on Pete Alonso, the Juan Soto negotiations, and life as a baseball executive. Stearns said he appreciated that Cohen was upfront with fans about how the negotiations with Alonso have gone.
“One of the things that makes him one of the great owners in professional sports right now is his honesty and transparency,” Stearns said. “When he’s at an event that allows him to directly communicate with our fans, he wants to be straightforward, and I think our fans appreciate that.”
In talking about Soto, Stearns said that most teams knew the outfielder was likely going to hit the free-agent market after he turned down a 15-year extension from the Nationals in 2022. Pursuing Soto was on Stearns’ mind when he was hired by the Mets at the end of the 2023 season.
“I understood Steve’s perspective and I think he understood my perspective, as I coming into this position on our pursuit of elite free agents,” Stearns said. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities to acquire a generational player, a potential future Hall of Famer.”
Stearns added that getting Soto to the Mets went beyond just money and on-field performance. Soto said at his introductory press conference that the family aspect of the team played a role in him choosing to come to Flushing.
“Determine you have the best understanding possible as to who this player is on the field and who he is off the field, to understand what might appear to the player,” Stearns said. “A big part of this process with a premium free agent is the non-monetary aspects of the deal.”
Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan, spoke about the balance of being a fan and an executive, saying he can’t operate the team the way fans would want to. He added that he believes the way to build a championship roster is by consistently making the right decisions on a day-to-day basis.
“Look, I’m still a Knicks fan, I’m still a New York Giants fan, so I still have the fan part of me – fans get to be more emotional, and that’s what makes being a fan a lot of fun,” Stearns said. “I don’t have that luxury, and if I did and let that creep into this, ultimately, I don’t think our fans would be happy about that because I would probably make decisions that aren’t in the best interest of our organization.”
In talking about young players who could help the Mets in 2025, Stearns said he’s excited about how the farm system has progressed.
“We are getting to a pretty exciting stage in our organization where we have a number of players who have been highly-touted prospects through their time in the minor leagues who are now getting to that Double-A, Triple-A level and can impact our team at the major league level in the not to distant future,” Stearns said. “Someone like Brandon Sproat, a young pitcher who will begin the year in Triple-A. One of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball and who we believe will help us at some point this year.”
Stearns also spoke about the game’s parity, particularly when it comes to spending. While there hasn’t been a repeat champion in 25 years, Stearns said that there hasn’t been parity in the league’s spending.
“I think there is a conversation that needs to occur and is ongoing – the importance of baseball when it comes to closing those spending gaps,” Stearns said. “Markets like Milwaukee, markets like Tampa, when you draft, develop, sign, develop a star, you should have the capability to keep those stars in smaller markets. We’ve seen other sports figure out how to make that happen.”
