David Stearns has already made up for this disastrous NY Mets trade

On the long list of David Stearns mistakes, one trade becoming increasingly worse is now only a little over a year old. The New York Mets sent three prospects to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ryan Helsley.

Helsley flamed out quickly and while we held our breath hoping the prospects given up would do the same, the headliner in the package has not. Through 160 plate appearances in Double-A, Jesus Baez has a .982 OPS and 16 home runs. He has already reached 30 on the season when combined with what he did in High-A. For those concerned he was the guy who hit 3 home runs in his MLB debut on Saturday, that was Joshua Baez. If you want to get angry at the Mets about him, gripe about how they took Calvin Ziegler in the same round of the 2021 draft instead.

A well-regarded yet unaccomplished Mets prospect at the time, the 21-year-old infielder looks like the real deal on the Cardinals’ farm. Fortunately, Stearns unplanned 180-degree turn at the 2026 trade deadline helped make up for this loss.

The Mets have made up for the loss of power they sent away when Jesus Baez was traded

Take your pick. The Mets added multiple infield power hitters at the 2026 trade deadline. Billy Amick, Sammy Stafura, and even Jefferson Rojas all have the kind of swings that can erase any kind of Baez home run proficiency.

Of course, the game isn’t a Home Run Derby. Amick isn’t even a top 30 Mets prospect on most lists. Stafura is with Rojas a headliner pretty much everywhere with a placement within the top 100. Those three can all help erase the distress of seeing Baez thrive in St. Louis.

The absence of power was a notable trend within the Mets farm system this year. The Mets might have taken note of this when they took Aidan Robbins in the third-round of the MLB Draft. His 55 Power Grade actually matches Ryan Clifford. This doesn’t guarantee he’s about to knock out any bulbs in the light towers.

The Mets went into action on Saturday with 2023 9th round pick Nick Lorusso and his 22 home runs leading the entire organization. Of the actual ranked prospects, Clifford was the only one with more than 15 long balls.

Stuffing all of these incoming infielders into the farm system feels as if the Mets are sure to come away with at least one significant player for their future. The Mets also managed to add Cole Mathis and Aidan Smith this season via trade to add to the mix of power-hitters. This doesn’t mean Baez won’t become the best of the bunch, but it alleviates the angst of losing him without having a replacement. The Mets have more than enough alternatives that are as satisfying as anything Baez could have done.

The Helsley trade was no doubt a failure. We now need to hope the recent sales aren’t.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow