The Mets enter David Stearns' fourth offseason in charge of baseball operations after a 79-win season and the dismissal of manager Carlos Mendoza, with another round of roster decisions ahead.
The team's direction is the subject of a new analysis by MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, who contrasts New York's recent decline with the long-term foundation Stearns helped establish for the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers.
Stearns, Milwaukee's top baseball operations executive from 2015 through 2022, joined the Mets with a plan to combine small-market roster-building experience with New York's financial resources. His first Mets team reached the National League Championship Series, but the club then won 83 games in 2025 and 79 in 2026.
The latest finish brought an end to Mendoza's tenure. DiComo reported that Stearns liked the manager and had not wanted to dismiss him.
Milwaukee's title highlights a longer rebuilding process
The Brewers' championship roster included several players acquired during Stearns' tenure. He traded for Christian Yelich, signed Jackson Chourio and drafted Jacob Misiorowski, Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, Logan Henderson and Aaron Ashby, DiComo noted.
His controversial trade of closer Josh Hader during a playoff push also helped produce acquisitions that included Robert Gasser and, eventually, World Series MVP William Contreras.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio credited Stearns and former manager Craig Counsell with strengthening the team's culture and infrastructure before president of baseball operations Matt Arnold and manager Pat Murphy built on that work. Arnold emphasized the years of investment behind the title.
DiComo's comparison revisits an idea the Mets have pursued before: adding a successful small-market front-office approach to a large-market payroll. He points to the earlier Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta era, when a 2015 postseason run did not lead to sustained success.
Recent Mets moves bring mixed results
Stearns' first offseason in New York included signings of Sean Manaea and Luis Severino that helped the team improve quickly. The following winter brought Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract.
Soto has delivered strong individual statistics but has not reached the postseason with the Mets during those first two years, DiComo wrote.
Last offseason, the club moved on from a core that included Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and Edwin Díaz. Stearns subsequently acknowledged that changing too much of the roster too quickly had exposed the club to a much worse outcome than expected.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has verbally guaranteed Stearns' job through the end of his contract in 2028, according to DiComo. The analysis questions how secure that assurance would remain without better results; it does not report a new decision by Cohen about Stearns' employment.
Pitching decisions loom
DiComo expects discussion of the Mets' offseason to focus heavily on Tarik Skubal, who could command a record contract for a pitcher. Whether Stearns would depart from his history of avoiding long-term pitching deals remains unresolved.
The analysis frames that decision as a choice between the immediate appeal of a major signing and the possible longer-term benefits of a less popular move. It does not report that the Mets have agreed to a deal or committed to a particular approach.
Stearns declined to comment for DiComo's article. In remarks last month cited in the report, he said the responsibility to put a winning team on the field each year had not changed since his introductory news conference.
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