David Stearns expects the Mets to compete for a playoff spot this season
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns speaks during his introductory news conference at Citi Field on Oct. 2, 2023. Credit: James Escher
Mets fans who are worried that the team is “punting” on 2024 should be heartened by the words of David Stearns, who said on Tuesday that he expects the club to be a playoff contender.
Not in 2025 or 2026.
In 2024.
“We should be competing for a playoff spot,” Stearns, the Mets’ president of baseball operations, said in an interview on SNY’s “Mets Hot Stove” show. “We should be building a team that has the ability to make the playoffs and that's certainly our expectation for our team. I believe we'll be able to meet that expectation and we should have exciting baseball in September and October for our fans to be proud of.”
The Mets haven’t made any big splashes this offseason, as they did in previous winters. They tried hard for Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto before he signed with the Dodgers. Owner Steve Cohen told Newsday last month when that bidding war was over, “The organization and I left it all on the field.”
Many Mets fans are still hoping the club has a little more left to give in the free agent market and signs a veteran designated hitter such as J.D. Martinez or Justin Turner. But Stearns made it sound as if he wants to sprinkle DH at-bats around the roster with an emphasis on seeing what the Mets have in youngsters such as Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Asked specifically about his plans for DH by SNY’s Andy Martino, Stearns said: “I think it's a continual evaluation. And it's both an evaluation of how we feel internally -- those discussions continue -- and also an evaluation of what's available, and how that may impact various players on our team.
“It really is this balance between bringing someone a little bit more established versus allowing our young players to play a little bit more. That's a balance we're constantly going to have to find, not only this year, but going forward. I am a big believer in letting your younger players play. At times, that means that you're going to have some hiccups at the major-league level and, even in New York, we have to be OK with that. We have to understand that at times we're going to play young players, and they're not going to succeed immediately, and we have to be patient, and if we are we'll be rewarded for that.”
The Mets made two more low-key additions on Tuesday. The signed infielder Yolmer Sánchez and catcher Austin Allen to minor-league contracts and invited them to major league spring training, which begins in less than a month in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
“I am excited,” Stearns said. “This is a fun time of year. Spring training is a great time to get to know your organization, meet a ton of people. It's a time for real optimism and that optimism, I think, is deserved, and I'm looking forward to it.”
The Mets also on Tuesday traded catcher/DH Cooper Hummel to San Francisco for cash considerations. Hummel had been designated for assignment on Saturday.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
