It’s been an offseason of seismic changes for the Dishesand while there’s still plenty to do between now and opening day, president of baseball operations David Stearns met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss the club’s current situation.
The Mets have already said goodbye to Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, And Jeff McNeil this offseason, but Stearns believes the organization is in a very good position and with good reasoning.
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“We said goodbye to the players who have performed very well here, to the people that we care about a lot, to the players that the fans care about a lot and who have integrated well into our community, who have done what we as an organization have asked them to do for a long time, and it’s really difficult and we all recognize that,” Stearns said. “And we’re doing all of this because we’re committed universally, from ownership all the way to the top, to ensuring that the Mets’ next five years are better, and that we win more games and meet the high expectations we have for ourselves, than what we’ve done before. What we’ve done before hasn’t been good enough. We all know that, I certainly know that, and we have to do better. And we’re committed to doing it.
“We have tremendous ownership support to make this happen. We have elite talent at the top of our major league roster. We have a very good farm system, and we have a very good current major league team as we sit here today that is going to get better before we get to Opening Day.”
Stearns added that the Mets currently have a mix of “true elite talent on our major league team, combined with young players who have already established themselves at the major league level and are ready to take the next step.”
“We currently have this pretty unique combination of MVP-caliber talent, players who have already established themselves at the major league level and are at that point in their career where there is the potential — not certainty, but the potential — for a jump, and some really exciting young premium prospects who are on the cusp of reaching the major league level,” Stearns said. “It’s an enviable location for any organization.”
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The timing of these statements is certainly noteworthy, given that it is now reported that the Mets offered All-Star Kyle Tucker a short team contract worth $50 million per season.
Losing fan-favorite pieces like Diaz and Alonso hasn’t been an easy pill to swallow, but potentially adding Tucker, the best player available via free agency this year, would completely change the narrative for the Mets.
And Stearns is committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve the ultimate goal.
“I certainly understand that there have been points this offseason that have been frustrating for our fans. We’re not blind to that at all,” Stearns said. “I’m certainly not blind to that. I hear it, I acknowledge it. I hear it sometimes from friends and family. I also feel very strongly that what we’re doing is the right thing for our franchise going forward to achieve our goals of building a consistent playoff team, a team that year after year is a true World Series contender, and ultimately a team that does what we’re all here to do, which is win a World Series. And that’s why we do all this.”
