Mets Rumors: David Stearns Agrees to Contract to Become President of Baseball Ops

The New York Mets got their guy, with David Stearns reportedly set to join the front office.

Per SNY's Andy Martino, Stearns has agreed to a deal to become New York's president of baseball operations after the 2023 regular-season ends.

Stearns has been connected to the Mets for some time after owner Steve Cohen told reporters in June he wanted to hire a president of baseball operations who would be above general manager Billy Eppler.

This has been a disappointing season for the Mets after they spent big money to sign Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana and retain key players like Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz.

New York's $353.5 million payroll at the start of the season was $76.5 million more than anyone else in Major League Baseball. The team went into sell mode ahead of the trade deadline by dealing away Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Robertson and Mark Canha.

It was an honest assessment from Cohen and Eppler that their plan for 2023 had failed and it was unlikely to get better if they tried to run it back next season. They did add seven new prospects to their top 30 in those deals, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

In an interview with The Athletic's Ken Rosethal after he was traded to the Texas Rangers, Scherzer said the Mets told him their "vision now" is focused on being contenders again in 2025.

It's not implausible to envision the Mets being a playoff contender as soon as next season. They still have a good core in place with Senga, Nimmo, Francisco Alvarez, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso. Díaz will be back as the closer in 2024.

The Mets fired multiple front-office executives last month as part of their ongoing organizational restructuring. Pro scouting director Jeff Lebow, farm director Kevin Howard, performance director Jim Cavallini and baseball development director Bryan Hayes were all dismissed.

Stearns spent seven seasons working the front office for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was originally hired as general manager in September 2015 and was promoted to president of baseball operations in 2019.

The 38-year-old stepped down last October after Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017. He did remain with the organization in an advisory role this season.