David Stearns is facing the realization his NY Mets rotation is a work in progress

The 2025 season has yet to begin and already there’s fingerprint DNA all over the panic button. Some of us have even resorted to using our tongues to flick the panic switch. Our elbows have actively been smashing the emergency brake in an attempt to get a restart on the New York Mets season.

Injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea have the team behind the 8-ball to begin the season. They’ll be without their two most expensive starting pitchers, including the potential staff ace in Manaea. 

David Stearns approached building the rotation similarly to the way he did last year. Taking a short-term flier on an injury-prone player such as Montas fits directly into the same scheme as signing Luis Severino did last year. As successful as it was, the blueprint is one that might never work out so well ever again.

The good thing is the Mets won’t have to completely revamp their starting rotation all over again so soon

Stearns swayed slightly from last year’s instruction manual. Manaea got a three-year deal and as much as it hurts to see him miss the start of the season, the expectation is for him to be back by mid-April. Clay Holmes has two guaranteed years on his contract, not that it necessarily makes you feel good if you’re timid about the addition in the first place. David Peterson will remain arbitration eligible through next season. Kodai Senga will be present and accounted for in 2026 as well.

Montas is the only main rotation piece who could have actually escaped New York so easily. But with a $17 million player option for 2026 and an injury to delay his Mets debut, we can already assume opting into the deal is a more likely outcome although far from a guarantee.

It can’t be fun to have to rebuild almost an entire starting pitching staff from scratch every offseason. Especially with the price on starters reaching ridiculous heights each winter, the pre-2024 approach looks like one that’ll only work once in a career.

The Mets will have available rotation space for next season with Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning both eligible for free agency. By then, we’d all hope Brandon Sproat is a legitimate big league starter and at least one or two other pitching prospects are under consideration as well. There will always be someone’s Blackburn to trade for or a Canning who was cut from a roster as well to fill in any gaps.

Beyond Juan Soto, the Stearns-led Mets have avoided any long commitments to players. This could always change next offseason when several big name position players hit the open market, most notably headlined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. A pipe dream addition for the Mets, personal curiosity has me wondering when and if there will ever be a $100 million pitcher added to the payroll under his leadership. Multiple were handed out this past offseason with the Mets opting for, yet again, more unproven arms with risk.

Stearns backed away from an exact repeat of last offseason’s approach of not going beyond a year and an option on anyone. What’s he thinking now?