David Stearns operates differently than Billy Eppler ever did. Which current contracts would he have likely not offered and which would he have rushed to slide across the table?
If David Stearns got to the New York Mets a year earlier, how much differently would they look? A shrewder baseball executive than Billy Eppler who seemed to take the all-you-can-eat idea literally, we can look at some of the current contracts on the books and see how much differently our current President of Baseball Operations would have done things.
Stearns, obviously, isn’t opposed to spending Steve Cohen’s money. Juan Soto’s recording-breaking deal confirmed that. What about some other current deals? Two look like ones he would have preferred not to add. One, on the other hand, seems exactly like the type of contract he’d willingly hand out.
Would David Stearns have signed Brandon Nimmo to his current contract?
Stearns would have done a lot to sign Brandon Nimmo. He was and remains an incredibly popular player. At the time of his free agency, he was coming off of arguably the best season of his career. He stayed healthy for the full season with a good batting average, OBP, and power numbers to go with it.
However, Nimmo was about to embark on his age 30 campaign. A good center fielder for two straight years for the Mets, his performance has dipped over these last two seasons. Would Stearns have seen the possibility of Nimmo moving back to left field coming and decided against a $162 million and 8-year commitment?
For sure, Stearns would have found some other plan than to sign Starling Marte the previous offseason to be the center fielder and then not play him there and then do the same with Nimmo only for him to slot in at a corner spot after one season. The Marte contract at four years is more in-line with what Stearns has done. The contract expires after the 2025 season and he hadn’t shown any signs of slowing down prior to joining the Mets. In fact, until late in 2022 with New York he was putting up great numbers. He was even an All-Star.
Such a lengthy deal with Nimmo that’ll take him through his age 37 campaign in 2030 seems a little too far-reaching than what Stearns would have done if he was in the driver’s seat at the time. Maybe it’s different if Marte wasn’t here, too. The contracts are comparable with the difference being the Mets only got the latter half out of Marte while they get four additional years at the front with Nimmo.
Would David Stearns have signed Edwin Diaz to his current contract?
We can’t use Josh Hader as a reference point because the Milwaukee Brewers were never going to pay him the kind of money he’d command in free agency. The Mets operate differently. They do like to keep their star players and fan favorites. Letting Diaz go wouldn’t be about the money, but rather the idea of investing so much money in a reliever.
Of course, the Diaz deal hasn’t exactly paid for itself quite yet. He missed all of 2023 because of a freakish injury. Last year had its ups and downs. Even in a limited playoff sample, Diaz reminded us all he is human.
The Diaz contract isn’t bad, but it definitely isn’t one most executives would rush to make. The Mets paid him $21.5 million in each of the first two years and owe it to him again in 2025. Then come player options at $18.5 million for 2026 and 2027. Things finish off with a $20.4 million team option in 2028.
The opt outs and team option at the end help make both sides a little happier. Diaz can retest the market after 2025 if he chooses. A bad performance or another injury which seems to still affect him mentally might have him deciding against it.
Nothing of what Stearns has done with the Mets suggests he enjoys the idea of paying relievers. I do believe he would have made Diaz a fair offer but a lesser one in value and years.
Would David Stearns have signed Kodai Senga to his current contract?
Yes! Gosh, even with Kodai Senga missing practically all of 2024, it feels like a massive bargain. I think we’ll be surprised when we’re reminded in 2025 just how good he was as a rookie in 2023. Seventh place in the Cy Young? People made a big deal about Sean Manaea getting a single consideration.
Senga’s contract can increase with a top 5 finish in the Cy Young and would have gained an opt out if he secured 400 innings in those first three years. He’s currently at 171.2 innings. He won’t come close.
Senga’s contract pays him $15 million annually through 2027 with a conditional team option based on the health of his elbow. If he remains on the IL for 130 consecutive days because of a right elbow injury, the team can escape the final year.
When Senga came over from Japan there were questions about just how good he could be. It’s never easy to tell. Shota Imanaga had a better rookie year than Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Imanaga was viewed as a fallback option for teams who wouldn’t go the extra mile to sign Yamamoto. Sometimes losing has its benefits.
At the time of Senga’s deal it didn’t look like an outrageous bargain. Now it definitely does even with the years committed to him. On the open market he’d get closer to $20 million if not more per year right now. His health could always have the contract looking less favorably by the end. As far as what Stearns would have seen at the time of his free agency, it’s the exact kind of deal he’d drool over making.
