NEW YORK -- Acknowledging the shortcomings of this season, president of baseball operations David Stearns on Monday attempted to put a positive spin on the future of the Mets, while declining to reveal too many specifics regarding his offseason roster plans.
“I’m always under pressure,” Stearns said at Citi Field. “My job is to put a winning team here on the field every single year. That hasn’t changed from the day I sat up here for my introductory press conference to what I’m sitting up here [doing] right now.”
Specifically, Stearns said, he intends to fortify the Mets’ rotation this winter, though he stopped short of saying he would add an ace-type starter -- in other words, Tarik Skubal, by far the best pitcher available on the open market.
“I'm going to pass on that,” Stearns said when asked directly about adding an ace. “But I appreciate the question.”
Despite the Mets’ 74-88 record and last-place finish in the NL East, the Mets don’t figure to make wholesale changes to their roster. That’s partly because, in Stearns’ words, the team’s performance over the final two months of the season was “real” and offered “some really encouraging signs.” It’s also partly because the Mets do feature a viable young core with Juan Soto, A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge in the outfield, as well as Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and Jonah Tong in the rotation.
Stearns did note that the Mets have “options” beyond Marcus Semien at second base, and that the team’s first-base production “wasn’t good enough” -- clear indicators that Stearns plans to address the right side of his infield over the coming months. The rotation will undergo refurbishment if not full-scale renovation. And the bullpen is always a target area to improve.
Largely, though, Stearns feels the Mets have a solid foundation from which to build. He just needs to make the right decisions.
Those seeking to critique the president of baseball operations need only look to his decision last December to part with Pete Alonso, who signed with the Orioles on a five-year, $155 million deal. Alonso went on to lead the American League with 43 homers and 115 RBIs, prompting fans at Citi Field to cheer openly for him -- and boo their own players -- during the team’s final homestand earlier this month.
Asked if he regrets the Alonso decision, Stearns called it “a very fair question.”
“The truth is, in this job, I don’t get mulligans,” Stearns said. “I also recognize Pete had a tremendous year, and the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough. So now it’s my job to ensure that we’ve got better success across our roster.”