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    David Stearns on 2024 offseason plans after NLCS run

    Mars Posted on

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    NEW YORK — With less than three days until the Mets’ season ended in the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, David Stearns was ready to set his sights on the future.

    There were certainly some lessons to be learned from a team that went from playoff contenders to contending within two games of the World Series, but the Mets’ president of baseball operations is ready to carry the season’s lessons forward 2024 in a pivotal offseason.

    “We enjoyed that run. Our fans enjoyed that run. We have great memories of that run,” Stearns said Wednesday when addressing the Mets’ season and offseason ahead. “It’s also time for us to start moving forward and see what we can do to build on that foundation and ensure that we have the kind of sustainable competitiveness, true sustainable competitiveness that this organization has been alluding to since a long time.”

    As the Mets head into a formative winter, with Pete Alonso, Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, among others, all poised to make big decisions in free agency, Stearns believes the Mets have established a culture of passion for winning and a fun environment that can serve. the team is progressing well.

    And he hopes the 2024 season can serve as a foundation for continued victories. As Stearns spoke to the media for the final time in the 2024 season on Wednesday at Citi Field, here are three key takeaways:

    How will the Mets approach Pete Alonso’s future?

    The biggest question for the Mets this offseason is whether they will bring back Alonso, who after six seasons with the Mets will get his first chance in free agency.

    “I hope we find him,” Stearns said. “I think we both understand that it’s a process and everyone has their own interests. Pete deserves to go on the free agent market and see what’s out there and then make the best choice for him and his family.”

    Stearns called Alonso a “tremendous Met,” who was a founding part of the team during his tenure. In six seasons, he hit 226 home runs – third all-time in Mets history – with 586 RBIs and a lifetime .854 OPS.

    Looking back: Even with the NLCS loss, the Mets’ 2024 season will be remembered for its impressive run

    The Mets president admitted he never discussed contract details with Alonso, leaving those discussions to his representatives. But now Stearns must weigh Alonso’s importance to the franchise with his age (he turns 30 in December) and his struggling season in 2024, in which he hit 34 homers, 88 RBIs and posted a . 788 OPS.

    “I think that’s always the question in my job and our job is to build teams that are going to win in the future and so we’ll continue to evaluate that, not just with Pete, but for the entire player landscape and our entire team,” Stearns said. “We will do our best to build a team that will allow us to compete next year and for years to come.

    How will David Stearns address holes in the rotation?

    Behind Alonso, one of the clear priorities for Stearns and the Mets front office is strengthening the team’s rotation.

    Severino and Jose Quintana are both unrestricted free agents, while Manaea has a $13.5 million player option that he is likely to opt out of this offseason after one of his best seasons of his career.

    Notably, Stearns said it would be “great to have Sean back.” But whether the southpaw returns or not, Stearns will look to add to a current rotation that currently includes Kodai Senga and David Peterson.

    “We’re going to have to replace the sleeves,” Stearns said. “Certainly, some of that could potentially come from having some of those guys come back, or we could look elsewhere, but we’re going to have to add some starting pitchers.

    “We need to have multiple starters. We understand that. We went into last offseason with the same need, and I think we’ll be able to do that.”

    Stearns hopes the successful one-year deals for Severino and Manaea can help shine a light on the Mets’ ability to straighten out pitchers and keep them healthy when it comes to the bargaining table. Stearns is not known for giving long-term contracts to veteran starting pitchers, but he will look at each player individually this offseason.

    “If we look at the history of long-term investment by pitchers, it’s not exactly a rosy picture, but there are pitchers who have reached their mid to late 30s and who have pitched very well,” he said. Stearns said. “If we think we can identify that, then there might be exceptions.”

    Will the Mets spend on big-name free agents?

    Stearns is about to potentially have more financial flexibility than he has had at any point in his baseball management career.

    In Milwaukee, it was a small market. In his first season in New York, he was weighed down by dead money. Now, heading into 2025, with $65.1 million owed to Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and James McCann, Stearns could potentially open the checkbook of some of the big free agents.

    “We have a lot of money coming out of the books,” Stearns said. “I would expect us to spend some of that, a good portion of that, to round out our team, to improve our team before next year. We’re also not going to do anything that paralyzes in the years to come and prevents us from continually adding and supplementing our core group.

    There are some big names available this offseason like Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Alex Bregman and Max Fried, but those would come with expensive contracts.

    Now it will be interesting to see if the Mets few of these potential long-term deals are worth writing about.

    Mars
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