Brewers: Mets Continue Their Desperate, Pathetic Pursuit of David Stearns

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. That’s exactly what’s going on right now with the New York Mets and their pursuit of Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Despite being rejected for the 3rd time in the last four years, the New York Mets just can’t get their eyes off of David Stearns. It’s like a man trying to ask a woman out on a date when she’s already married and has rejected him three times.

But yet, here the Mets are again, with a report that New York is holding out for a hire of President of Baseball Ops until next year when they believe David Stearns will actually be available to them.

The New York Mets will wait and try to pursue David Stearns for their front office job once again next year and take him away from the Brewers.

According to the article, the Mets are assuming that David Stearns’ contract runs out after next season, and at that point, they’ll be able to talk to him and hire him. Anonymous sources claim Stearns is interested in the position.

It’s already well documented that Stearns grew up a Mets fan, and as any baseball fan would know, the opportunity to run your favorite childhood team would be enticing.

Even still, most other candidates for this job don’t even want it, and are continually pulling their names out of consideration. There has to be a reason for that, and it says a lot about the Mets organization that so many talented executives don’t want the job.

Could that be because they know the Mets want to make Stearns their President of Baseball Ops and whoever goes there as GM will only have one year or so making the decisions until Steve Cohen hires someone else above them to make the calls? Possibly.

In the Mets’ ideal scenario, a GM hire this winter would serve as a one-year placeholder, waiting to be supplanted by Stearns above him in the front-office hierarchy. Earlier this week, New York team president Sandy Alderson did not deny that the Mets would contemplate hiring above the GM level again next winter.’

"In the Mets’ ideal scenario, a GM hire this winter would serve as a one-year placeholder, waiting to be supplanted by Stearns above him in the front-office hierarchy. Earlier this week, New York team president Sandy Alderson did not deny that the Mets would contemplate hiring above the GM level again next winter."

This seems like a poor way to run a search for an executive. How are you going to attract any good candidates when all you can offer them is one year as a placeholder until they replace you with someone better? That’s not exactly a great sales pitch.

While Cohen and the Mets have their eyes on a possible future with Stearns, they’re neglecting what’s right in front of them, and plenty of good candidates in front of them too. They’re daydreaming about marrying a supermodel when the cute girl from homeroom is sitting right next to them.

They’re banking their entire search process this year on the chance that David Stearns doesn’t sign an extension to stay in Milwaukee and will be available to them another year from now.

What if, somehow, David Stearns did get to the point where he interviewed for the Mets job, and he still turns them down because he doesn’t like the situation they have set up? That’s another real possibility. What then? Then they would’ve torpedoed three years of PBO searches because they were pinning their hopes on one guy, and then he rejected them outright? That also cuts deep on whatever GM they hire this year, because it shows a lack of confidence in them.

This is so desperate and pathetic from the New York Mets. Just because they have a boatload of money doesn’t mean they can just take whoever they want.

If and when Stearns signs a contract extension to stay in Milwaukee, or the Brewers pick up his reported option for 2023, then the Mets would have even longer to wait, and it would just make them look all the more foolish, desperate, and pathetic.