Mets GM Keeps Talking Talent, Young Core In Latest Presser

New York Mets GM David Stearns held a press conference yesterday, and he provided an update on the state of the team. The Mets have gone 16-11 since the trade deadline, and Stearns tried to express a note of cautious optimism, according to a piece written by Matthew Ritchie of MLB.com. 

“To some extent, it’s good to see that we are competing against really good teams, some of the best teams in the league,” Stearns said, a little less than 48 hours after the Mets’ 10-4 victory over the Tamp Bay Rays. “That’s also where we should be. That’s what we expect of ourselves. And so yes, I am glad that we are playing pretty competitive baseball. … That is also the expectation.”

Stearns comment is slightly delusional. The Mets have been winning games, but anyone who’s been watching has seen a team that’s often been outclassed by far better teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and several others. 

The GM tried to put the emphasis on the emergence of the Mets’ young core, which has basically been accidental. Stearns expected the team he put on teh field to be a contender, and instead the Mets became a joke up until the trade deadline due to their listless play and underperforming veterans. 

“I think what maybe has solidified for me, and for us, is the continued performance from this emerging young core,” Stearns said. “We’ve had a lot of belief in these players. We’ve placed a lot of trust in these younger players, but you never know how it’s going to go. … So to see the consistency of their performances, to see each of them in various ways bounce back from a couple of down starts or a down month, and stay with the level of determination that you see really good big leaguers have. 

“As much as anything, that has been encouraging. And to see that even take another step forward over the past month, past six weeks, has been great to see.”

The other delusional aspect of Stearns’ comments had to do with the Mets’ talent level as it relates to playing smart baseball. The physical potential may be there, but the Mets have any number of players who don’t play focused baseball and make poor decisions, and the Mets have proven this season that physical talent isn’t nearly enough when you play the kind of bad baseball New York has put on the field this year. 

“Throughout this season, we have believed we have had a talented team,” Stearns said. “We’ve shown it at spurts over the last five-six weeks. Clearly, we are where we are because we haven’t done that consistently enough. So I think we take the good of what we’ve seen more recently, acknowledge it, but also weigh it appropriately with what’s happened throughout the entirety of the season. 

“But I am encouraged by what we’ve seen. We’ve seen continued progression from a lot of players who are going to be here next year, and for many years -- and that is very encouraging for me. I think that lifts the organization as a whole, as we head into an offseason and ultimately construct our team for ’27.”