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David Stearns has met his first mandate magnificently. With the blessing of Steve Cohen, he forged a strategy to prioritize the big picture by not jamming up future payrolls and rosters while trying to make the current collection strong enough to reach the postseason.
He has succeeded. The short-term deals for Harrison Bader, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino have worked superbly, as has the roster churn that brought quality depth with Jose Iglesias and Luis Torrens.
Now Stearns has to honor a group that head-to-head is the best team in New York. That is a season-high five games over .500 and just 1 ¹/₂ games behind Atlanta for the top wild-card spot, with the beat-up Braves coming to Citi Field for four games beginning Thursday.
These Mets are not just clawing to get into the October tournament. Home-field advantage in the first round is no pipe dream.
With their play over the last eight weeks, the Mets players are all but screaming to Stearns that Phil Maton is nice. But do better than the bargain aisle. The players badly outperformed their Yankee counterparts on the field, dropping a symbolic challenge for Stearns to do the same to outperform Brian Cashman between now and the trade deadline on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Both teams are looking for one and probably two relievers. Why should the Mets cede any ground? It is doubtful that Oakland closer Mason Miller is being dealt, but his power setup man, Lucas Erceg, might go. The Rays have pen arms with Jason Adams, Peter Fairbanks and others. If Yimi Garcia is deemed completely over his elbow issues or his Blue Jays teammate Chad Green is available or Angels closer Carlos Estevez or Marlins closer Tanner Scott. Well, you get the idea.
There is inventory. And the Mets didn’t just four-game sweep the Yankees in the Subway Series. They dominated them and on Wednesday night humiliated them with a 12-3 rout.
After which I asked Severino if this team’s play should convince Stearns and his lieutenants to aggressively upgrade the roster further. He responded, “One hundred percent. Nobody was expecting to be here where we are right now. And we showed everybody what we can do — and we can get better.”
Stearns was hired, in part, because his history and intellect show he will not give in to the emotions of the moment and veer off a disciplined course. Got it. Understand it. But this franchise has only been to the playoffs 10 times, just three in the past 17 seasons. When I asked broadly what was up Tuesday before this round of the Subway Series, Stearns responded, “You know, I like to make the playoffs.”
Great. It is there for him and this team. This isn’t a choice between mortgaging the future or not. But a piece or three can be moved to steel the bullpen and perhaps add one more outfield bat. With Christian Scott (elbow) iffy to return this year, the idea of concurrently selling, say, a Jose Quintana or Manaea while also buying should go away. This team should be on a full playoff push.
Clubhouses that position themselves well for the playoffs expect their front office to honor that by improving the product. And Carlos Mendoza and his group have done that, rallying from 11 games under .500 on June 2 to produce the best record (29-13) since, including 4-0 against a Yankee team that has so much more desperation to be big buyers at the deadline. But the Yanks’ 10-22 plummet since June 15 has been the dike that springs leaks everywhere — from Gerrit Cole’s 5.40 ERA after being beat up again by the Mets to seven spots in the lineup to a bullpen that has been a worry since George Steinbrenner Field.
The Yankees have three games at Fenway Park over the weekend. Boston is the top team out of the AL playoffs, just 4 ¹/₂ games behind the Yankees. It isn’t as if the Yankees are so much more comfortably in the playoffs, especially the way they are playing, than the Mets.
Especially how the Mets have been playing. Forget about the tenants — the Mets were the Bronx Bombers for two days in July in the 10451 zip code, hitting six homers to the Yankees’ two. In the four Subway games, they out-homered the Yankees 14-6.
Their lineup is so much longer than that of the Yankees — even with Starling Marte out and Francisco Alvarez and J.D. Martinez struggling. The Mets might not have two MVP candidates like Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. But Francisco Lindor, who hit two homers Wednesday, is more and more looking like a top-five candidate. Kodai Senga, the Mets’ 2023 ace, makes his 2024 debut Friday. And Stearns must add more external goodies to fortify the staff.
You play the season you are having, not the one imagined. And the one the Mets are playing demands an amended mandate from Stearns.
