NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 flavors of David Stearns Kool-Aid worth sipping from

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David Stearns is going to get a lot of leeway because of his reputation. From the moment he joined the organization, the excitement was palpable. Finally, after lots of searching, the New York Mets had a brain in the front office we believed in fully to make the necessary moves to win a championship.

Loyal Stearns followers can make even the most inconsequential move look like baseball mastery. How well he hit or missed this offseason will be driven by the results. In the meantime, all we can do is choose to guzzle from the Kool-Aid or not.

There are some fans we’ve already refused to take a sip and have no faith in this coming year. But if you’re feeling a little parched, these three flavors of David Stearns Kool-Aid are worth sipping from.

1) Mets fans can sip from Cheap DH Cherry Blast

Stearns won’t be forgiven if the DH situation ends up being one of the factors to hold the Mets back in 2024. The good thing for him is that there isn’t another place on the field where you can get better. Any hitter can play this part and he can be replaced defensively by someone else.

As much as the Mets should’ve been targeting more proven veterans for the everyday DH gig, it’s worth sipping from the Cheap DH Cherry Blast he has served us. The Mets need to discover whether or not Mark Vientos is a part of their future. The best time to do this was at the end of last year. A promising final month of the season, unfortunately, didn’t provide enough of an answer. Handing him as many at-bats to begin this year is an acceptable beverage to serve given how the club handled the rest of the roster.

There will be available moves for the Mets to make if this goes haywire. Beyond just the major league roster, players such as Ji-Man Choi and Luke Voit can become options. How good they can be is up for debate. Look more toward the Mets landing a DH at the trade deadline if they find themselves in the position to buy.

You can either complain that you’re thirsty or guzzle down a cup of this flavor.

2) Mets fans can sip from Strawberry Kiwi Starting Pitching Grape Gamble

As down on the Mets starting rotation as many may be, there wasn’t much else they could’ve realistically done. Sign Blake Snell? It was never going to happen with his contract demands plus the loss of a draft pick on top of it. That’s the kind of move you make if you’re ready to win now and don’t care much about 2025 and beyond.

The additions the Mets did make to the starting rotation are gambles in their own way. Sean Manaea is very mid-level while Luis Severino’s biggest issue isn’t how many runs he gave up last year but how much time he has missed. If one of those free agent additions works in favor of the Mets, things are already going their way.

Adrian Houser is the third starting pitcher added to the group. Capable of pitching in relief as well, he’ll be a more than acceptable fifth starter for this ball club. Add all three of those guys in behind Kodai Senga when he returns and a hopefully equally as effective Jose Quintana, and the Mets rotation has a ceiling separated enough from the floor to get the job done.

If there is any complaint to make about the starting rotation it may be how many gambles they are taking. The Senga injury doesn't make us feel quite as good about the situation with all of the uncertainty about everyone else. Even a more average yet consistent arm might’ve had us feeling better.

This might not be a flavor of Kool-Aid everyone is willing to down. Give it a try.

3) Mets fans can sip from Improved Bullpen Blue Raspberry Jam

Until only recently, the Mets bullpen looked like it was going to be the stain on the season. Jorge Lopez and Michael Tonkin were the only additions they made. Then Stearns got busy. He signed Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, and Shintaro Fujinami in the matter of days. Suddenly, with those three in tow, the bullpen looks much better.

This isn’t to suggest all three of those additions plus the returning group is masterful enough to give New York the best reliever group in baseball or even an average one. The depth is worrisome, at least to begin the year. They do have some intriguing pitchers coming upward toward the majors, but by the time even some of the notable starting pitching prospects could help out in relief, it might be too late to save the season.

Stearns deserves a lot of credit for building a competent bullpen when he was left with very little. He essentially built around Edwin Diaz, Brooks Raley, and Drew Smith. The one major con is other than Fujinami, no one has minor league options. This includes returning relievers Phil Bickford and Sean Reid-Foley plus Yohan Ramirez whom the Mets added in a trade with the Chicago White Sox early in the offseason.

Will this bullpen actually taste any better than last season? Swap David Robertson for Diaz. Add in a second lefty—a good one, too. Somewhat forgotten, the Mets opened last year with Tommy Hunter and Stephen Nogosek on the roster. Jeff Brigham pitched the fifth-most innings in relief. Yes, this bullpen is a lot better.

Tilt your head back. Open your mouth. This flavor of Kool-Aid will keep you hydrated.

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