NEW YORK — The bunting still hung from the Jackie Robinson Rotunda of Citi Field on Wednesday, the “POSTSEASON” paint along each baseline fading under the sunlight of a mild late October day. The reality, that there will be no World Series games here next week, “still stings,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said.
Instead, Stearns spent Wednesday summarizing a season in which the Mets accomplished more than most anyone expected — and as a result, an offseason of raised expectations. Despite more than a dozen major-league free agents on the roster, the Mets are as well-positioned entering the winter as they’ve been in a long time.
Stearns talked about that short- and long-term outlook, tackling:
- The Mets’ financial flexibility
- The club’s stance on several of its critical free agents
- Takeaways from a successful 2024
- The future of his own front office
- The status of several players who finished the year with injuries
Mets expect to be ‘aggressive’ in free agency.
After a relatively austere offseason last year, the Mets once again plan to be big players in free agency. New York has around $180 million coming off its team payroll, and Stearns said that he expects to spend “a good portion of that.”
“We’ve got financial flexibility,” he said. “It means pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible to us. That’s an enormous opportunity. I envision us taking advantage of that opportunity and being aggressive in certain spaces.”
Stearns said of Pete Alonso, the team’s most notable free agent: ‘He’s a great Met. I hope we have him back.’ (Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
In Stearns’ first offseason running the team, the Mets went big-game hunting just once, for starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who ultimately preferred a similar offer from the Dodgers. This offseason projects to offer more players who fit New York’s short- and long-term plans.
“My job and our job is to put teams together that are going to win going forward,” Stearns said. “We’ll do our best to put a team together that allows us to compete next year and for years to come.”
Stearns doesn’t want to spend profligately.
“We also have to recognize that we want to set up our organizational pattern so that we can invest in free agency, invest where we think we need to complement the club on an annual basis,” he said. “We’re not going to do anything that hamstrings us in future years and prevents us from continually adding to and supplementing our core group.”
Stearns didn’t explicitly rule out keeping the team payroll below the first luxury-tax threshold of $241 million. He said he keeps the various tax thresholds and their accompanying penalties in mind throughout the winter.
“I would expect us to be active in free agency. I would expect us to go out and try to improve this team,” he said. “Where ultimately our payroll lands, at this point I really can’t say.”
Yes, there’s interest in re-signing Pete Alonso, and others
In a coincidence, Pete Alonso happened to be in the hallway in the bowels of Citi Field just as Stearns was readying himself to walk into a room for a news conference. Just before entering, Stearns told Alonso with a smile that he was about to answer a lot of questions about him. Alonso told him, “Good luck.”
“He’s a great Met. I hope we have him back,” Stearns said in response to the first question he received about Alonso’s upcoming free agency and the desire to retain the homegrown star. “I think we both understand this is a process, and everyone’s got their own interests. And Pete deserves to go out into the free-agent market and see what’s out there, and then ultimately make the best choice for him and his family.”
Among other factors, Stearns and owner Steve Cohen must balance how much Alonso, who turns 30 in December, means to the franchise and how a slugging right-handed batting first baseman like him generally ages into his 30s.
“I think all of that is important,” Stearns said. “Who Pete is as a person is important. What he means to this franchise is important. Who he is as a player is also important in what he contributes on the field. There’s no magic formula to this.
“There’s no equation that spits out what all of that is for us. And so there’s judgment involved. There’s evaluating the market involved. And we’ll see how this process goes throughout the offseason.”
Alonso profiles as the most important and most fascinating decision regarding free agents from the 2024 club.
But others that stand out as interesting, too.
Lefty Sean Manaea became the Mets’ top starting pitcher but holds a player option he will almost certainly execute to become a free agent. On Manaea, Stearns said, “Sean’s been great here, and not only on the field but off the field as well. So, yes, another player that would be great to have back.”
Count outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, a disciplined left-handed batter whom the Mets acquired at the trade deadline, in the same category.
“Wink did a great job for us,” Stearns said. “He was having a really good year in Washington, came over here, adjusted to a little bit of a new role. We asked him to play a little bit more outfield. He did that. When we asked him to DH, he certainly did that. He understood he wasn’t going to play against lefties, and was ready off the bench when we needed him. I appreciated the fire. I think our fan base appreciated the fire. Absolutely, another player who contributed to our team and who we will certainly stay in touch with.”
There’s still no rush to hire a GM.
In 2023, Stearns tabled a potential search for a GM to work under him because, he said, too many other things needed his attention during his first winter on the job and the process commands too much time. Close to one year later, the stance doesn’t seem like much as changed.
Stearns said he hasn’t made a firm decision about hiring a GM and was not eager to do so.
“If someone were to become available that I think would be really tough to pass up, then I’d certainly consider it,” Stearns said, “but we’re not going to go through and entertain a huge search process here because I think we’ve got a pretty good group going.”
The Mets’ front office has experienced some turnover over the past couple of months, with assistant GM Ian Levin, international scouting director Steve Barningham and director of major-league operations Elizabeth Benn, among other scouts and player development personnel, out. The remaining brain trust below Stearns includes VP and special and assistant Eduardo Brizuela, special assistant Carlos Beltran, senior VP for player development Andy Green, vice president for amateur scouting Kris Gross plus senior leadership holdovers from previous regimes Tommy Tanous, Jonathan Strangio and Ben Zauzmer. It’s certainly possible for more changes to occur.
Replicating success and clubhouse chemistry with high turnover is a challenge
Stearns still carried the sting of defeat but was obviously proud of his group’s success, especially because it took a path with ups and downs. But he also shared that he was “keenly aware” of something.
“Nothing is predetermined,” Stearns said. “Our success this year does not mean anything for our success next year.”
There’s work to do. Stearns said this energizes him. He believes the Mets are in a good spot. From here, his task is the one he was brought in to build: sustaining the success.
Part of the Mets’ success came from having a healthy environment in the clubhouse. Key figures of that culture such as Manaea and infielder Jose Iglesias will be free agents and may not return. The Mets hope they can lean on team leaders such as Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo to keep up the good vibes. While watching players embrace in the clubhouse after the Mets’ season, Lindor said he was most proud of the camaraderie built in the clubhouse. Makeup has always factored somewhat into Stearns’ calculus for player acquisition, and that’s not expected to change.
“So every year is going to be different, and the formula is different every single year, the mix is different every single year,” Stearns said. “That’s also an opportunity for us to continue to grow and get better. There are also some key core elements that we can carry forward: the passion with which we play, the fun with which we play, along with the seriousness with which we pursued winning and competed. Those can be constants. Those should be constants, even if the formula and the mix on the field is a little bit different.”
Most players should enjoy a normal offseason
The Mets enjoyed a relatively healthy season. Yes, they lost ace right-hander Kodai Senga for all but a handful of innings, and their bullpen was hit hard by season-ending injuries both early and late. But the position player core stayed largely healthy, and the club got more out of its veteran starting pitchers than expected.
- Lindor (back) and Nimmo (plantar fasciitis) were feeling better by the final game of the season, Stearns said. Lindor dealt with back soreness in the final week of the regular season before returning while Nimmo aggravated his plantar fasciitis in the NLDS and was limping for the first few games of the NLCS against Los Angeles. At that point, Nimmo did anticipate requiring a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection in his foot and to wear a walking boot for some stretch of the winter. “Both those guys are in good shape heading into the offseason,” Stearns said.
- Senga (shoulder/calf) should have a normal offseason, according to Stearns. “Very strange year for Senga,” Stearns said. “Lot of stops and starts, but having a normal offseason is important, and then getting him to a place where we’re going to have a normal spring training is also important.” The Mets expect to routinely use six starters in their rotation next season.
- If all goes well, Dedniel Núñez (elbow) could throw off a mound by the middle of November, which would mean a relatively straightforward offseason for the reliever.
- Ronny Mauricio (knee) still hasn’t started baseball activities since undergoing surgery for a torn ACL in the first week of January. Stearns acknowledged that Mauricio’s recovery has “definitely gone a lot slower than we expected,” and that the infielder needs to get some time in on the field before the Mets have a better sense of what he can be for them in 2025.
(Photo of David Stearns from spring training: Alejandra Villa Loarca / Getty Images)
