According to reports, the Mets hiring David Stearns as their new president of baseball operations

David Stearns, the president of the Milwaukee Brewers, has been appointed as the New York Mets’ new manager.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets and Stearns have agreed to a five-year contract that will make Stearns the team’s president of baseball operations following the end of the 2023 regular season.

Stearns joined the Brewers in October 2015 as general manager before being elevated to president of baseball operations prior to the 2019 campaign. The Brewers made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons under Stearns for the first time in franchise history, including three times while he served as president. Last season, the team came up just a game short of securing the last wild-card spot. Over the course of his seven seasons in Milwaukee, Stearns averaged 87 wins.

After the 2022 season concluded, Stearns resigned from his position, and general manager Matt Arnold took over. Stearns’ contract with the Brewers goes until the conclusion of current season, and he has been working with the team this summer in an advisory capacity.

Stearns was an assistant general manager with the Houston Astros before moving to Milwaukee, and the team has also been linked to him. Astros owner Jim Crane was reportedly interested in bringing Stearns back to the organisation because his wife Whitney is a native of the Houston region. However, Stearns is a native of the New York region and a lifelong Mets supporter. Along with working as an intern for the team, he also had internships with the Cleveland Guardians and the front office of Major League Baseball.

The Mets have endured a difficult season despite entering the year with very legitimate championship ambitions. The team is 10 games out of the last National League wild-card spot with a record of 65-78 going into Tuesday’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A significant section of the team’s roster, including Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Tommy Pham, and David Robertson, was dealt this summer by general manager Billy Eppler. Eppler stated that his deals made before the trade deadline were not part of a “rebuild” or “fire sale,” but he also reportedly told Scherzer that he didn’t believe the team would be competitive until the 2025 or 2026 season “at the earliest.” Eppler will continue to work for the team under Stearns.

The Mets haven’t won the World Series since 1986, and in the previous seven seasons, they’ve just once advanced to the postseason. In 2015, they made it to the World Series but lost to the Kansas City Royals. Under new owner Steve Cohen, the Mets have by far the highest payroll in the league. This year, they paid roughly $111 million in luxury tax fines, which is more than 10 teams spent for the entire squad.

Despite the fact that Cohen’s buying binge hasn’t yet paid off, it is obvious that he is prepared to spend money to bring a title back to the brand. Stearns will now be responsible for bringing it about.