David Stearns is in his third year as the New York Mets president of baseball operations, and the team is in all likelihood going to miss the postseason for a second consecutive year.
In Stearns' first year, the Mets went on a Cinderella run to the National League Championship Series after finishing third in the division. Last year, they added Juan Soto and missed the postseason. This offseason, they lost Pete Alonso, but spent big to add Bo Bichette and Devin Williams, and acquired Freddy Peralta and Luis Robert Jr.
None of the moves have really worked out, but owner Steve Cohen is not planning on moving on from Stearns.
"I'm committed to David," Cohen told reporters on Wednesday. "I've said that before and we're going to move forward. I thought we had a great trade deadline. David is smart. He knows what he's doing. He's very adaptable. He learns from mistakes. That's what I want in a leader."
The Mets traded away Freddy Peralta, Luke Weaver, A.J. Minter, Clay Holmes and Brooks Raley at the trade deadline. Being sellers is not likely what Cohen envisioned from his team when the season started, but the position they were in called for just that.
Now, Stearns will be tasked with rebuilding the team in the offseason to better compete for a World Series. The team's failures do not all fall on Stearns this year. He really cannot control if players play well below expectations, like Peralta, Bichette, Robert, Williams and Francisco Lindor.
On the bright side, the Mets seem to have found something in A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge, and they should be opening day starters with Juan Soto in the outfield next season. Stearns is not going to lose his job after the season, but if he does not fill some holes at first base and in the rotation, he may be in trouble next year.