Fewer than 24 hours after Francisco Lindor grounded into a game- and season-ending double play, New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns addressed the media to talk about the season and the future. Here are three takeaways from Stearns’ press conference.
Pitching and Defense Not Good Enough
A recurring theme down the stretch was the Mets’ inability to prevent the other team from scoring in bunches. The Mets routinely make bad defensive mistakes, prolonging innings and putting pitchers in major trouble.
Stearns’ press conference focused heavily on the pitching and defense. “I’ll keep harping on run prevention,” Stearns said. “That is where we fell short this year.”
The starting pitching struggled mightily in the second half. After being a strength for the first two months, it became a liability in September. Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas all spent significant time on the injured list. David Peterson was a shell of himself after an All-Star first half.
The rotation struggles forced the Mets to promote top prospects Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat down the stretch. McLean dominated, and Sproat had some good outings. However, Tong looked overmatched and had two disastrous starts.
Stearns said that the changes to improve the pitching will largely come from the player development system. “I believe we’re developing very good pitchers,” he said. “That’s going to continue to be an emphasis.”
Trade Deadline Regrets
The topic of the trade deadline came up repeatedly during Stearns’ press conference.
Despite the starting rotation struggling in July, Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns didn’t upgrade the rotation at the deadline. The market for starters was empty, so the Mets decided to improve the bullpen instead. They acquired Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants, and Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals to hopefully form a strong bridge to dominant closer Edwin Diaz.
Rogers was good for the Mets. Soto had a strong August but was terrible in September. Helsley was a disaster from the moment he arrived in Queens. He was tipping his pitches, leading to a lot of walks, hard contact, and runs.
By the end of the season, Rogers, Diaz, and Brooks Raley were the only relievers manager Carlos Mendoza could rely on. But with the rotation crumbling, it wasn’t enough.
The Mets also acquired center fielder Cedric Mullins from the Orioles in an attempt to improve their offense at the position, but he was awful. His OPS with the Mets was below .600, and he hit only two home runs. His defense was also a letdown, which became extremely clear during the few weeks Tyrone Taylor was hurt.
Stearns said he didn’t do a good job helping the new acquisitions adjust to the Mets. “I have to create an environment here where when players come here who are good players, that they have success here,” he said. “That’s our goal, and in a couple cases here we acquired players who really struggled.”
Belief in the Core and Leadership Remains, but Expect Some Changes
Stearns was quick to confirm that Mendoza would return in 2026. “I believe Carlos has all the same traits and assets that I believed in when we hired him two years ago,” Stearns said. “I still believe he’s a very good manager.”
In addition to Mendoza, Stearns supported the stars the offensive stars the Mets had. The Mets got great seasons from Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo, along with a surprising performance from Brett Baty.
“We have very good to elite core players, who at times have played at a very high level and a year ago had a very good season together,” Stearns said. “I think the ceiling remains high.”
Outside of the superstars, though, the offense — which Francisco Alvarez said was “the best lineup in baseball” in Spring Training — was inconsistent. Mark Vientos couldn’t find any rhythm after a breakout 2024. Alvarez had multiple stints on the IL and was demoted for a month due to his struggles. Jeff McNeil was streaky. Taylor’s OPS was below .600. Jose Siri was injured for most of the season and bad when he was healthy.
Stearns said the Mets could trade some of the position players to help benefit other areas.
“I think we’re going to have to be open-minded in our position-player grouping so we can improve our run prevention,” he said. “A day after a season ends, I’m certainly not going to commit to what things look like in Spring Training or Opening Day.”
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