The Mets have a $25 million David Stearns dilemma with his role atop franchise teetering

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is exactly halfway through his five-year, $50 million contract.

Based on the first half’s results, it’s fair to say he’s yet to prove he was worth the king’s ransom owner Steve Cohen paid to bring him home to New York.

After the Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza Friday, amid a six-game losing streak and disastrous season, Stearns is still owed $25 million. And all signs point to him remaining on the job for a while.

The Mets signed Stearns away from the Brewers in October 2023 and his contract doesn’t include an opt-out. 

David Stearns speaking at a Mets press conference. Robert Sabo for NY Post

Outside of a miraculous NLCS appearance and 89-73 record in 2024, the Mets have largely underwhelmed under Stearns’ stewardship, missing the playoffs due to an epic collapse in 2025 and starting 34-47 in 2026. 

“Are they (the Mets) really better today than they were two-and-a-half years ago? Are they better set up for the future than two-and-a-half years ago?” The Post’s Joel Sherman said in his immediate analysis of Mendoza’s firing Friday. “This is stuff Steve Cohen’s gotta worry about. That’s not about the manager, that’s about the guy running baseball operations right now.” 

Stearns’ speciality with the Brewers was finding diamonds in the rough, but that approach hasn’t worked with the Mets – numerous reclamation projects he’s signed haven’t panned out. 

Even with arguably the highest payroll in baseball the last few seasons, Stearns has opted to sign pitchers like Frankie Montas and Adrian Houser with hopes of revitalizing their careers and little in the way of results.

Montas, who had a 4.84 ERA in 2024 before coming to the Mets, had a 6.28 ERA in 2025 with the team after signing a two-year, $34 million deal. He was cut after last season with $17 million left on his contract. 

Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, left, walks away as New York Mets’ Francisco Alvarez, right, breaks his bat after striking out to end the eighth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in New York. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The Mets did sign Juan Soto to a lucrative 15-year, $765 million deal in December 2024 and he’s produced so far, but Stearns angered fans by not keeping homegrown talents Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo after 2025. 

Stearns let Alonso walk to the Orioles and traded Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien, who’s hitting a dreadful .214 in 2026. 

The Mets signed veteran Jorge Polanco to replace Alonso, and he hit just .179 through 14 games before suffering an Achilles injury. 

During its 38-55 finish to 2025, the Mets pitching staff was their Achilles heel, with David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea proving unreliable. Stearns brought them all back this season and traded for his former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. They have all struggled. 

Peterson was traded to the Cubs earlier this week after posting a 6.09 ERA this season, Manaea has a 4.87 ERA and Senga was recently moved to the bullpen after posting a 10.08 ERA through seven appearances. 

In the first full season with Stearns’ fingerprints on all aspects of the team, the Mets don’t seem any closer to fulfilling the ambitious 2-4 World Series championships Cohen said he wanted when signing Soto.

It’s Stearns’ mess to clean up — and the clock is ticking.