If the New York Mets are hellbent on bringing in David Stearns as the team’s president of baseball operations (PBO), they now have an idea of when they can mount a proper pursuit.
The 36-year-old Manhattan native is currently serving at the same position with the Milwaukee Brewers, who denied the Mets permission to speak to him in each of the last two offseasons. It leaves the Mets with the only option being to wait until Stearns’ contract with the Brewers expires — which had been unknown for the last two years.
But on Monday, SNY’s Andy Martino finally shed some light on the Stearns’ contract situation and when he could potentially become available. Should the Brewers win the National League pennant in 2022, Stearns will become a free agent after the season. If they don’t, he’ll remain under contract with the Brewers through the 2023 campaign.
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Stearns has built a championship contender in Milwaukee, so seeing the Brewers make the World Series isn’t outside the realm of possibilities. According to DraftKings, the Brewers are tied with the third-best odds to win the National League.
Whether they have to wait a year or two does not appear to impact the Mets’ level of interest in Stearns as he remained a fixture on their list of potential PBO candidates over the last two years — searches that ultimately wound up yielding nothing.
The Mets were forced to pivot in each of the last two winters to focus solely on hiring a new general manager. After the Jared Porter and Zack Scott debacle of last season, owner Steve Cohen has brought in former Los Angeles Angels GM Billy Eppler to Queens. He enjoyed a frenzied start to life at the position, helping bring on the likes of Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, and Max Scherzer before hiring Buck Showalter as manager.
Per Martino, Eppler “would not necessarily mind” working alongside his close friend in Stearns within the Mets’ front office.
