Recent NY Mets trade partner is having a very 2023-24 David Stearns offseason

Ask most sensible baseball minds, they’d grade the New York Mets offseason at its worst a B and at its best an A. Not perfect nor disastrous, the Mets have been somewhere in between with successful pivots after losing out on just about everyone they targeted or lost.

It has been a much different offseason than the previous two led by David Stearns. From 2024-25, the Mets seemed to get their guys quickly and the one major free agent they did wait on, Pete Alonso, fell into their laps in February.

When we write up what a Stearns-led offseason looks like, we’d probably expect bargains over starpower. The Mets would hold back in some regards. They haven’t this offseason with strong pushes all across the free agent and trade board. One of their recent trade partners seems to have done things the way we thought the Mets might have.

The White Sox have had an offseason very similar to what we might expect from a Mets team lead by David Stearns

The Chicago White Sox aren’t about to run away with the AL Central, but they’ve undoubtedly gotten better. Among all of the teams in the division, no one has been more active.

Yes, the White Sox recently dealt their longtime center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets. But isn’t that exactly the type of trade we’d think Stearns would make in a different scenario? Trading away players near the end of their contracts was something he did regularly with the Milwaukee Brewers. He just hasn’t had ample opportunities to do it with Mets players. When he first arrived following the 2023 season, most of the players who’d be trade candidates were already dealt over the summer.

White Sox offseason additions include Luisangel Acuna, Munetaka Murakami, Austin Hays, Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, Seranthony Dominguez, and Jordan Hicks. Acuna was a Mets player while Murakami and Hays were perceived options for the Mets when the offseason began. Kay and Newcomb fit the bill as reclamation projects coming off of good seasons (Kay overseas). Dominguez and Hicks are hard-throwers who could have replaced one of the relievers the Mets lost in free agency who, if nothing else, can blow a fastball by you. Here’s looking at you, Ryne Stanek.

It doesn’t feel likely that the White Sox are going to go on some sort of magical run like the Mets did in 2024 but it’s not out of the realm of possibility with the division they play in. Low-risk, high-reward types of additions was the forte of their offseason.