As he, and just about every other GM and POBO do, David Stearns had a lot to say at the MLB Winter Meetings without actually saying much at all. Words don’t always have meaning. Sometimes they do, but are open to interpretation. When the topic of New York Mets trade candidate Kodai Senga came up, Stearns came off as transparent as he ever has.
David Stearns says that Kodai Senga is having an "outstanding" offseason:
— SNY (@SNYtv) December 8, 2025
"He feels great. He feels as good physically as he has since that 2023 season." pic.twitter.com/rZo65fiKdR
An “outstanding offseason?” Yeah, and I aced recess.
David Stearns didn’t have a good selling point to teams interested in trading for Kodai Senga
No one will be fooled by where Senga is. An excellent pitcher when he’s on, a brutal question mark when he’s off, teams trading for him will have no idea what they’re getting. The fact the Mets demoted him late last season when their other starters were struggling so badly inflicted a lot of damage to his reputation. No one is really at fault. Senga probably needed more time to get right before returning from the IL. It’s just a bad circumstance where everything that could go wrong, culminating together in what became a lost Mets season.
Senga is the unquestioned top Mets trade target to eliminate from the rotation. Sean Manaea is unmovable. Clay Holmes was their most consistent. Don’t even think about asking for Nolan McLean. David Peterson is someone who could get moved, but there hasn’t been a hint of a rumor about him.
The Mets are navigating choppy waters this offseason with their starting staff. Swapping out Senga for a more durable and consistent starting pitcher with ace-like abilities improves the ball club. However, it’s not going to get better years, specifically finishes, from the guys who collapsed late last season.
Fortunately for the Mets, the price on starting pitchers of all abilities is high. Senga is a risk a team with an already loaded staff should look to acquire. Slot him in as your fifth starter and see what happens.
The Mets kind of need to trade away someone. Nobody is required to take on Senga. If Stearns isn’t budging on going beyond 3 years for a starting pitcher, he’s going to have a tough time landing any upgrade in free agency outside of a shorter contract with maybe a guy like Michael King. Even he has some health concerns.
