David Stearns did a wide-ranging Q&A with Tyler Kepner of The Athletic, in which he talked about how special it is to run his favorite childhood team, taking riskier roster moves in years to come and what he sees as a common thread for winning organizations.
Growing Up a Mets Fan
Stearns, 39, was named the first president of baseball operations in franchise history last October. He grew up a Mets fan in Manhattan and was an intern for the team in 2008 before spending eight years with the Brewers, including six leading their baseball operations.
“There is more meaning to this job than there would be in any other job in baseball for me, because I grew up a Mets fan, because my family were Mets fans, because a lot of my friends are Mets fans, because I think I understand how much winning here would actually mean to everyone involved with the organization,” Stearns told The Athletic.
He also seemed to have a pinch-me moment when he had breakfast with Darryl Strawberry this offseason.
Building Out the Organization
Kepner asked Stearns if the Dodgers are a blueprint for the Mets to follow. Los Angeles has made the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons, winning one World Series in three appearances. They are expected to contend again this year.
“I hesitate to say that any other team should be our model,” Stearns said. “I think we need to create our own identity. I think we need to create our own way of doing things. If we were to say we want to do what another team is doing, I think we would fail because we don’t know exactly what they’re doing.”
Stearns told Kepner what will be different with the Mets than his time in Milwaukee is he will have more leeway to “take our shots” in free agency but they have to be “well calculated.”
“And we have to understand we can’t do it all the time,” he added. “So I don’t think there is a magic formula to that, but you’re right: One of the inherent advantages of the smaller markets and running a smaller market is that you can only get yourself into so much trouble, right? Because you can’t afford the truly big mistakes.
“Where big-market clubs historically have gotten themselves into long-term trouble is by making repeated big mistakes in the luxury aisle of the supermarket. So we’re going to shop in that aisle, but we have to do so intelligently, and we have to do so when it makes sense for the overall direction of our franchise.”
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The Mets tried to sign pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto this winter, but ultimately he went to the Dodgers for 12 years and $325 million. New York made several smaller moves hoping to upgrade the club, adding pitchers Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser and outfielder Harrison Bader.
The Mets could have as many as four openings in the starting rotation next winter, and slugging first baseman Pete Alonso will be a free agent as well. The team has already been rumored to be interested in the Yankees’ Juan Soto, also slated to be a free agent.
Front Office Stability
Stearns went on to point out that many of the teams across all sports with sustained success have had stability in the front office, with the owner, front office and manager/head coach on the same page. In baseball, he referenced his time in Milwaukee and cited Cleveland, Tampa Bay and the Yankees as other examples. He hopes to be with the Mets for a long time.
“I certainly think we can build it,” he said. “It takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. But we need to. That is a must for us, to have the stability that allows us to consistently be rolling in the same direction.”
