5 NY Mets players who catfished David Stearns worse than anybody in 2025

3) Paul Blackburn

Paul Blackburn might’ve actually tricked Stearns twice. He did so first at the 2024 MLB trade deadline when he was the one added to the Mets roster to give the rotation a little more ammunition; emphasis on the word little.

Blackburn showed shades of acceptability in 2024 before an injury knocked him out for the remainder of the season. He’d suffer multiple injuries in 2025, eventually making 4 starts and 3 relief appearances for the Mets. His 6.85 ERA was about what we expected.

Fooled into trading for him in the first place, the bigger problem was keeping Blackburn around. The Mets could have non-tendered him in the 2024-2025 offseason. Instead, viewing him as a starting pitcher depth option or bullpen long man, they held on.

The salary wasn’t excessive at just over $4 million. The bigger problem was wasting their time. We know Stearns can find gems out there. Griffin Canning was paid only a little more and was on his way to putting together a career-year before his early-season injury landed him on the shelf.

It’s mediocre players like Blackburn whose presence on the Mets can get on our nerves. We can accept Stearns trading for him at the deadline because the cost was seemingly minimal. Believing he was a worthwhile keeper for the 2025 season is when we begin to wonder if Stearns ever bothered to ask him why his webcam never worked.