Mets Monday Morning GM: 1 approach change for David Stearns this offseason

We’ll remember the first offseason under David Stearns as one where he took chances and saw many pay off. Sean Manaea and Luis Severino worked out brilliantly well. Jose Iglesias completely changed the chemistry of the team when he arrived to the majors after signing a minor league contract.

Some of what he did last offseason could effectively work again this time around. Fliers on free agents like Manaea and Severino have strong potential to work well. There’s another Iglesias out there to sign to a minor league deal. Is it possible to get scouts to check into the vocals of veteran journeymen?

One thing does need to change. Stearns can’t play the waiting game for bullpen pieces.

The Mets need to be more aggressive adding relief pitchers

The Mets waited a long time to add veterans to their bullpen last offseason. In a short span, they signed Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino, and Shintaro Fujinami. All came to the Mets as perceived bargains. Based on the results, they were much less so.

Stearns showed he had an eye for relievers in the regular season. The Phil Maton trade remains a strong one despite some shortcomings in the postseason. Decisions like calling up Dedniel Nunez paid off huge and should continue to benefit the Mets into 2025 and beyond. Let’s give him a little credit as well for holding onto Reed Garrett who seemed like nothing more than a leftover from the previous regime.

Cheap bullpen pieces with some room to grow was the name of the game for the Mets last year. Former All-Star Jorge Lopez signed on the cheap and while he was good early on, fizzled out and threw his fate (and glove) into the stands one May afternoon.

Stearns missed further with the bargain addition of Adrian Houser in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. We shouldn’t hold it against him. Tyrone Taylor made up for it. Plus, all it cost was an injured prospect.

The Mets’ bullpen plans managed to go awry due to several injuries. Brooks Raley and Drew Smith had early season-ending injuries. To suggest Smith would have dazzled is a reach anyway.

Bargains are fine. Playing the waiting game allowed the Mets to swoop in and sign J.D. Martinez in March. This same level of heel sitting won’t be present in 2024-2025 with much bigger bats to add. When it comes to relievers, waiting for the market to unfold might just leave us with a repeat of last year’s follies.