NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 4 alternatives David Stearns may wish he signed instead

The New York Mets made a shocking low number of free agent signings this offseason. Only 6 MLB deals are still active with the team, which excludes Richard Lovelady who is now with the Washington Nationals via waiver claim, this year’s Mets team was built with a lot of trades.

It’s hard to say “how about him?” with trades. Few alternatives to Freddy Peralta and Luis Robert Jr. were swapped. You can’t really determine who else might’ve taken Brandon Nimmo and sent over immediate big league help.

We’ll disqualify Edwin Diaz instead of Devin Williams and Kyle Tucker instead of Bo Bichette because those are painfully obvious and not worth wasting your time with. Of course we’re going to exhaust those comparisons in 2026 and beyond. These other four you might not be thinking of.

1) Ryan O’Hearn instead of Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco was a shocking Mets addition. A longtime second baseman, nobody figured they’d actually consider signing him to become a first base candidate. Here we are. A little over a month until Opening Day and Polanco is going to play a significant role on this ball club as a first baseman and DH.

The Mets had plenty of other places to turn. Ryan O’Hearn was one of those less costly free agents with some signs of being a suitable option. Capable of playing a strong first base and an occasional right fielder, he ended up going to the Pittsburgh Pirates on a two-year deal worth $29 million. It’s $11 million less than what the Mets will give Polanco.

O’Hearn was a bit of a late-bloomer for the Baltimore Orioles. He struggled to find consistency with the Kansas City Royals. Last season was a good year which began in Baltimore and continued for the final weeks with the San Diego Padres. He posted a career-high 17 home runs with 63 RBI.

Polanco defeated him offensively with 26 home runs and 78 RBI. It was a tighter race in other numbers with Polanco edging out O’Hearn with an .821 OPS versus O’Hearn at .803. What the Mets did with their choice was take a player who has hit well before. They bought into Polanco regaining his success rather than O’Hearn continuing to build upon his. What’s more, Polanco can supplement the Mets at a variety of infield positions. O’Hearn knows first base, but wouldn’t be useful at second base or third base like Polanco can be.

Similar yet different, Polanco will need to prove he’s worth $11 million more.