NY Mets Monday Morning GM: David Stearns may never want to pay for a SP ever again

David Stearns hasn’t had the same pitching philosophy we expected under the vault of Steve Cohen. When Billy Eppler was here for two seasons, signing expensive starting pitchers was how he built the New York Mets up. His tenure included free agent signings of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, and Kodai Senga. Each was a well-received addition by the fans. Each within fair market value of what others would’ve paid them, Stearns flipped a different switch. He went from signing a surer thing to looking for a short-term bargain.

Sean Manaea and Luis Severino succeeded in 2024, leaving us all more open minded about what he did prior to 2025. Manaea was back, this time on a lengthier and bulkier contract. Stearns didn’t stop there. He went out and added Clay Holmes with the hopes of turning him into a starter. Griffin Canning was discovered at the bottom of the bargain bin beside a Chuck Norris film nobody has seen. Frankie Montas was given the opportunity to pitch for the Mets on essentially a pillow contract with a good-faith player option on a second year.

How have those things turned out? With the way Nolan McLean has exploded onto the major league scene, the development of Jonah Tong, and even more pitching prospects on the way, it’s beginning to feel like Stearns may never want to pay a starting pitcher ever again.

Starting pitchers are proving the point David Stearns has made abundantly clear

It goes beyond the Mets. Remember when he was definitely going to sign Corbin Burnes because they knew each other from Milwaukee? Burnes pitched well for the Arizona Diamondbacks but after 11 starts required Tommy John Surgery. Arizona is paying him over $30 million to heal.

Walker Buehler was more within range of what Stearns does prefer. A rebound candidate for sure, he was moved to the bullpen by the Boston Red Sox recently. Just as quickly as they demoted him, Buehler was released.

It doesn’t matter if Stearns was hunting for a big fish or a smaller one in the same aisle he has been prone to shop in. Starting pitchers just don’t seem to be worth the money.

Beyond anything, it’s the injury bug plaguing them. Nathan Eovaldi was trending toward a potential Cy Young with the Texas Rangers only to suffer a season-ending injury that essentially crushed the team’s chances of a September comeback. Blake Snell has made only 7 starts all season. Five have come in August. Kyle Gibson retired. Jack Flaherty has been underwhelming below expectations and possibly this year’s league leader in losses despite playing for a really good Detroit Tigers team.

Anywhere Stearns could have turned, it seems like he was going to pick up a couple of duds.

One might think it’s impossible to ever build a successful rotation exclusively through the minor league system. Then again, this is the Mets who look like nothing else is more important on the farm. Between McLean, Tong, Brandon Sproat, Christian Scott, and any number of the lesser discussed prospects, it does feel like the necessity to spend money on the volatile health of starting pitchers is something to avoid.