Mets hire David Stearns

According to multiple sources, the Mets and David Stearns have agreed on a five-year deal to make Stearns the first President of Baseball Operations in team history. Stearns, a 38-year old Manhattan native, previously worked in the Mets’ front office earlier in 2008.

Stearns was named General Manager for the Milwaukee Brewers in September of 2015, and was promoted to the role of President of Baseball Operations in January 2019. After a disappointing 2022 season, Stearns stepped down from the POBO position but remained an advisor with the club through the end of his contract.

This move has been widely speculated for some time, but gained steam after Stearns stepped down last autumn.

The role of President of Baseball Operations sits above General Manager and has never been before been implemented by the Mets. The Mets have been looking to find a POBO for the Mets since Steve Cohen bought the team, but had come up short. Stearns was previously denied permission to interview for the Mets’ general manager job in 2021.

Stearns has presided over one of the most successful eras in Brewers history, making the playoffs four straight years during his tenure. He also seriously remade the team’s front office and was quick to turn over half of the 40-man roster in his first off-season with the club.

The Brewers’ payroll under Stearns, both as GM and POBO, never ranked in the top half of league spending. With Cohen’s checkbook and a newly replenished farm system, Stearns will have very high expectations on his first off-season in the organization, despite what was reportedly told to Max Scherzer.

As of now, it is presumed that Billy Eppler will remain in the GM position.