Mets hiring David Stearns as president of baseball operations, source says

The long courtship is over. The union is all but official. And now, it’s time to finally see if this marriage is everything Steve Cohen hoped for.

David Stearns, the wily Brewers executive who helped turn a sputtering franchise into a thriving one, is set to become the Mets' president of baseball operations, a source confirmed – ending a nearly three-year pursuit by the Mets’ billionaire owner, and beginning what Cohen hopes will be a new era of domination in Flushing.

An era of change, too.

Stearns, 38, has been the favorite to land the job since stepping down as Brewers’ president after the 2022 season. Last week, sources said discussions between the Mets and Stearns were "going well,” and by Tuesday, a source confirmed that he’ll be signed to a five-year deal. It's not clear if Cohen and the Mets considered other candidates.

Stearns’ reputation is sterling, having taken the small-market Brewers from the NL Central basement to the NLCS Game 7 in 2018, his third year as general manager. Stearns was promoted to president of baseball operations in 2019, and the Brewers went on to make the playoffs for three more years; he later moved to an advisory role. Now in the last year of his contract, Stearns was given clearance to speak to other teams on Aug. 1, according to a report in The Athletic, after previously being denied the request after the 2021 season.

(As a professional courtesy, it is standard across the majors for employees in the last year of their contract — who won’t be staying with their organization — to be set free to discuss their possible next job with other teams before the end of the season.)

The Mets were quick to make good on their sustained interest, and throughout the courtship Stearns has been looked to as both prodigal son and savior – a tactically-minded Harvard graduate and New York native who began his professional career with the Mets but wasn’t retained.

He’ll be tasked with leading a “re-tooling” in 2024, deciding whether to trade or extend Pete Alonso, and continuing to build a sustainable farm system that can create lasting, potentially dynastic, results. And, for the first time in his career, he’ll be allowed to do it with more money than any other team in baseball. He'll also have a healthy farm system – No. 11 in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

Organizational changes are also very likely. 

When he was hired by the Brewers in 2015, Stearns fired five of the team’s seven coaches. It’s expected that general manager Billy Eppler will retain his job as Stearns’ No. 2, according to ESPN. No such assurances have been given about manager Buck Showalter or the rest of his coaching staff. (Eppler already fired four department directors earlier this year.)

Showalter, who has one more year on his contract, said he hasn’t spoken to Eppler or Cohen about his future next season.

“I don’t think about those things,” said Showalter, 67, who won the 2022 National League Manager of the Year but is still searching for that elusive World Series title. “It’s about today and about tonight and we’re all trying to win in a very competitive business. This is not the time and place for my mind to be going there. If you choose to and your job description tells you that you should, then God bless, go ahead. I’m not going there.”

He added: “I’ve talked to our coaches and [our job is] to stay on task. These things usually work themselves out if you stay true to the game and what your job description is."

Stearns’ strength lies in the trade market – something that nicely complements Eppler’s proven ability to scout young or emerging talent. In 2018, Stearns traded four prospects for Christian Yelich, who would go on to become that year’s National League MVP. That trade deadline further helped establish his reputation: With the Brewers in second place, Stearns orchestrated four pivotal moves, including acquiring Mike Moustakas, who would go on to hit .364 and deliver a walk-off single in the NLDS.

Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan, was hired as an intern by Omar Minaya in 2008. He moved to MLB’s central offices, where he worked in labor relations, before getting a job with Cleveland as their director of baseball operations. Finally, he served as the Astros assistant general manager before landing the job with the Brewers.

The timing of Stearns’ availability is convenient for the Mets, who want somebody who can “hit the ground running,” as Cohen put it in June. Hiring somebody by, say, the end of the regular season would give the new-look front office all of October to jell and plan before the offseason begins in earnest in November.

-       With Tim Healey and Dave Lennon

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.