Reese Kaplan -- Long Overdue Progressive Mets Decision Making

Given the steady, sad progress of the 2026 season and the mediocrity of the entire David Stearns reign as part of the Mets organization, it was expected to be a slow and clumsy off season while the club took the many necessary steps to try to right the cellar dwelling ship after the failure of nearly every Stearns move yet again. 

Imagine the surprise, therefore, that the same baseball executive who did absolutely nothing when the wheels came off while it was not yet summer actually instead took progressive action to hire not just an on-the-field manager for the losing ball club but also a front office right hand man to help apply a bit more structure and second guessing personnel moves which thus far have not proven to be one of the current POBO’s skill sets. 

On the former, I felt as if I was standing alone in expressing the opinion that another rookie manager was not the most prudent path for the Mets to take.  Even deeper in that earlier expressed sentiment I felt as if I was standing all alone when I suggested that the early returns on Andy Green were indeed what had been missing since Buck Showalter was pushed out the clubhouse door. 

Consequently when Carlos Beltran was pretty upfront about not wanting to step into a managerial role, the faintest flicker of hope that instead of interviewing every other unemployed managerial candidate for the 2027 team, they instead pushed ahead with the overdue step of pushing Andy Green into multiyear security as the no longer “Interim” designated title of his role for the Mets.  

Saying my reaction was stunned would be underselling the intelligence and shock at the club not only doing the right thing but also taking full advantage of its unparalleled exclusivity of dealing one-on-one with the man who nearly brought respectability back to what David Stearns nearly ruined through a great many roster actions and inactions.

The other side of the coin was the Steve Cohen announcement that the team in recognition of what had gone completely off the rails since Stearns was brought on board was planning to reinforce the caliber of the front office.  At the time it was not announced whether the club was planning to designate someone to assume the role of GM abandoned by Billy Eppler after the faux injury scandal or if they instead were going to construct some kind of committee support system to buttress the many things Stearns kept getting wrong.

A day before the actual hiring, the word slipped out that a former Stearns Cleveland Indians coworker was considered a front runner for the Mets gaping need after having successfully worked the roster for the Minnesota Twins.  Derek Falvey had ascended to the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer before being terminated.  He had the track record and rapport with Stearns that made his possible inclusion a shrewd and understandable possibility. 

As it turns out Falvey has not been named General Manager in the traditional sense despite the glaring need.  His new title is Senior Advisor for Baseball Operations reporting directly to David Stearns.  At this point no one can predict if this change means Stearns will do a deeper and wider dive on roster decisions while Falvey takes over some of the behind-the-scenes activities that someone at this level needs to handle.  

Still, whichever way it goes, it would appear that for a second time Stearns got the wheels spinning earlier than anyone anticipated given his track record of lethargy when the plans he constructed failed to pay dividends.  It seems like a good choice bringing in an experienced young man to help reshape things.

Now going into the 2027 season the primary concern for the team is more likely the expected work interruption than any specific player names to fill the great many vacancies on the failed 2026 roster.  Both issues will surface for sure, but right now many of us who had lost nearly all faith in the Mets organization got a tiny dose of hope return with the unexpected and necessary changes that arrived during the final week of September.