NY Mets Monday Morning GM: The only 3 David Stearns decisions making the team tolerable

You’ll never fully check out of a baseball season even if the team becomes more background noise than a nightly event to plan around. The New York Mets haven’t been at .500 or better since April 10th. A 4-0 loss to the Athletics pushed them to 7-7 and there was no looking back. The season was lost.

David Stearns has become a double-four letter word in some households because as the architect of the roster, he gets the credit or blame. His incredibly controversial decisions have made him enemy number one in New York as he shredded a chance for fan-favorites like Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo to be Mets lifers.

Still, as bad as it may be, there are tolerable elements. It’s these three decisions, and frankly only these three, directly linked to Stearns that have helped make this a tolerable ball club in the latter part of 2026.

The only David Stearns decisions that have you sticking with the Mets right now

1) The Mets aren’t holding back their best prospects

Under Stearns, the Mets have been quick to promote. Sometimes it was out of necessity. In other examples, belief.

The 2025 season’s unexpected promotions were more due to the struggling veterans. This year, the Mets awarded Carson Benge with an Opening Day roster spot, never hesitated moving A.J. Ewing to the majors, and have been handing off starts to Zack Thornton. Christian Scott didn’t pitch much in the minors this year and in 2024, they had him up by the first week of May. The choice to have Nolan McLean pitch the final month and a half in 2026 continues to pay off.

The Mets couldn’t avoid a roster with lots of young players. However, refusing to wait has paid off and given them a promising future. It’s not all “wait until we see this prospect” come up either. These guys are getting it done in the majors.

The decision: Give the fans the kids.

2) The Mets bullpen has been really fun all year

Many of Stearns’ bullpen decisions have gone well. Other than Devin Williams, how can you not be impressed?

Luke Weaver has been an absolute beast. Buying Brooks Raley and giving him a second-year on his contract after Tommy John surgery has worked out well. On a larger scale, so has A.J. Minter. It’s just a shame the Mets have been bad and his health kept him out for so much of last year and the start of this season. Smaller moves have worked out well, too. The under-the-radar trade for Huascar Brazoban remains one of his better decisions.

When well-rested, the bullpen is full of assassins we can believe in. The tricky part is getting a lead early enough to not make it a “keep it close” situation. The failures of the starting pitching and offense have made far too many appearances out of the mostly outstanding bullpen wasted.

The decision: Spend money on relief pitchers and don't get too cute.

3) Juan Soto is on this team

Juan Soto was definitely a Steve Cohen signing, but someone had to hike the ball to him before he ran it past the goal line. Like it or not, Soto counts for Stearns.

It’s a cheap choice for this list. However, we need to acknowledge it because Soto is simply one of the best players to ever suit up for this team. He has yet to accumulate the games to become an all-timer. By the end of his tenure, the numbers will be monstrous.

Soto is one of the few can’t miss position players the Mets have ever had. Knowing on any given day he’s capable of greatness will keep fans tolerating so much of the bat around him. We have yet to see the full benefits of having him around because unfortunately there aren't enough other decisions worth our tolerance.

The decision: Do the most obvious thing ever.

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