A salami and a suspension makes NY Mets free agent decision look even better

It’s not every day a General Manager’s offseason moves get validated in March, but for David Stearns and the New York Mets, a major bullet was dodged just four games into the season. If Grimace, OMG, and a pumpkin were last year’s good luck charms, Stearns might want to attend his next interview rocking an Average Joe’s jersey. After all, if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge an 80-game suspension—and fortunately for the Mets, Stearns just happened to be on the right side of this one.

This offseason, after locking up Juan Soto, the biggest question for the Mets was how David Stearns would handle the corner infield. There were plenty of options on the table, including reported interest in Jurickson Profar, who was coming off an All-Star season with the Padres. But the Mets took a different route. Profar signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves, and roughly two weeks later, New York moved to bring back Pete Alonso.

With one swing, Pete Alonso lifted the Mets to a much-needed win against the Marlins and instantly proved that David Stearns made the right choice at first base.

With the Mets searching for a spark after a sluggish offensive weekend, Alonso delivered exactly what they needed. He went 2-for-4 with a grand slam, a walk, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBIs, turning early-season frustration into a sigh of relief. As fate would have it, just hours before Alonso’s heroics, news broke that Profar had been hit with an 80-game suspension for violating MLB’s PED policy. As Profar mentioned in his statement, he’ll still be back with the Braves in the second half of the season. But make no mistake—this is a major gut punch for Atlanta.

In the grand scheme of a long season, it’s easy to overlook the early decisions, but sometimes those choices set the tone for everything that follows. For David Stearns and the Mets, dodging the Profar situation to bring back Pete Alonso has already paid off in a big way. Alonso’s big performance against the Marlins was exactly what the Mets needed, and the Braves are now left to deal with the fallout of an unexpected setback. It’s only the start of the season, but so far, Stearns has made all the right moves.