It’s done: the prodigal is going home.
Steve Cohen’s Mets managed to get their hands on a man they had coveted for a long time, David Stearns.
The former Brewers right-hand man, who is an advisor to Milwaukee after leading the club’s baseball operations through 2022, will become the Mets’ president of baseball operations.
It will become so at the end of the regular season. We are talking about a five-year contract.
Cohen has wanted this for a long time. Originally (two years ago), Stearns, Billy Beane and Theo Epstein were his three choices for club president.
When all three said no, Billy Eppler took over as the club’s general manager. It should remain in place, but with a new boss over his head.
The 38-year-old New York native is coming home. He grew up a Mets fan, so he’s surely fulfilling a little guy’s dream.
The Astros (his wife is from Houston and he previously worked for them) were also in discussions to get him, but the Mets were always one step ahead.
It was clear that he was going to take job in New York and Cohen, who had no choice but to have it, undoubtedly pulled out all the stops to sign it.
He could talk to other teams for a month and a half.
His coming to New York is compared to Andrew Friedman’s move to the Dodgers in 2014. The main interested party then left the Rays.
In New York, he inherits a large construction site. Good luck to him in turning things around for the club which has just traded two Hall of Famers to Texas and Houston.
