1 dream Mets free agent target not even David Stearns will land

David Stearns coming to the New York Mets has fans feeling tingly. He's thought of as a baseball savant and someone who could intelligently improve the Mets moving forward. Between Steve Cohen's wallet and Stearns' brain, what can stop this team?

There are plenty of obvious moves to make including free agent targets to lock in on. One longtime dream Mets trade target will become available in the winter. Unfortunately, the Mets just aren't a match.

Put a fork in this dream coming true. Cohen's spending. Stearns' connection to him. Both combined aren't pulling Josh Hader closer to Queens.

Scratch Josh Hader off of your NY Mets offseason wish list already

Mets rumors about potential trades for Hader seemed all too frequent during his Milwaukee Brewers tenure. He ultimately went to the San Diego Padres last summer where he at first continued to implode on a far too regular basis. He was the 2019 version of Edwin Diaz. The thought was Hader would be the setup man for Diaz and occasionally work his way into the ninth if the situation called for it. He never did make his way to the Big Apple in anything more than road grays.

Hader has managed to put together another excellent year for the Padres in his first full season with them. So much for a bargain reliever who was great in the past. Hader has proven there is only one role for him in the big leagues. That's the closer job. There isn’t an opening on the Mets roster for it.

Diaz isn't expected to have any lingering side effects from the injury that erased his entire 2023 campaign. It was a freak injury and thankfully had nothing to do with his $100 million arm. He'll be back next season in the ninth inning. Hader is going to be somewhere else for the simple fact that he'll want to close games.

Can’t Steve Cohen pay Josh Hader more to be a setup man?

Could money make a difference? Eh, we're getting into ugly and unnecessary territory of the Mets were to try something like this. Hader might even get a contract topping what Diaz received. Spending $200 million on a pair of relievers isn't going to win you a championship.

What's more, why create a closer controversy at all?

Stearns might be able to pull others with a Brewers connection. Craig Counsell to become the manager. Corbin Burnes in a trade. Any of the other personnel or players he has liked in the past. Mark them down as possibilities.

Not Hader. The dream of him coming to the Mets is in a pipe. After all, Stearns is the same guy who traded him away from Milwaukee.