NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 unpopular David Stearns decisions that turned out well

Last week we had the red marker out for David Stearns. We took a look at his New York Mets tenure and found five of his most unpopular decisions that ended up going badly.

It’s only fair to look at things from all perspectives (and we will). This week, it’s our turn to find unpopular decisions that went in the opposite direction and look pretty good after the fact.

A front office executive is often divisive. Stearns fits the bill perfectly. You love his style, you hate it, or you have asked the jury to come back for another year before deciding on sentencing. However you feel about him, these five unpopular choices of his actually turned out to be the correct move to make.

1 )Letting Jose Iglesias walk in free agency

Jose Iglesias could have been an important part of the 2025 Mets locker room dynamic. We’ll never hear the end of how vibes weren’t so great for them in 2025 in comparison to 2024. For whatever reason, locker room chemistry is always a topic with this team. It’s the reason they make the playoffs or miss it and never about the performance on the field.

Following his spectacular year on and off the field in 2024 for the Mets, Iglesias lingered in free agency until early March when the San Diego Padres gave him a minor league deal that paid him $3 million for time on the MLB roster. He ended up in 112 games, at the plate 343 times, and came away looking like an easy player to pass over in free agency.

Iglesias batted .229/.298/.294 for the Padres. Roving all over the infield and even into left field once, he was an often-used bench player whose bat didn’t keep up with how it looked with the Mets the year prior. There was always justification for the Mets to bring him back. They decided to go with the youth of what Luisangel Acuna might be able to offer. After finishing 2024 so strongly, it was hard to argue against even if Iglesias felt necessary.

The Mets finished one win away from the playoffs in 2025. It’s fair to say one more magical moment from Iglesias could have been the difference. But would he have really lasted the full season with the team? Something tells me his poor offense would have led to an unfortunate dismissal.