David Stearns on Mets' sustained competitiveness, pursuit of starting pitching at trade deadline

It was a busy trade deadline for David Stearns and the rest of the Mets front office as they tried to shore up holes and prepare the team for the final two months of the season and a potential long playoff run.

Stearns was able to accomplish his number one goal of remaking the bullpen with the acquisitions of Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto -- days prior -- but also grabbed an outfielder in Cedric Mullins.

And outside of some household names, like Jose Butto and a couple of minor leaguers -- more on them later -- the Mets didn't have to give up a lot to get these players. So, how did Stearns accomplish that?

"The story of this deadline, for us, is really an amateur talent acquisition and player development story," Stearns said over Zoom after the 6 p.m. trade deadline. "Our amateur talent acquisition departments and player development group put us in position to have this type of deadline, where we were to go out and acquire players that would help us in the major league level and not touch some really high-upside players at the top of our system. Enormous credit to them."

Stearns lauded Mullins' athleticism and ability to affect games in ways that won't show up in the box score, and the two-headed monster of Helsley and Rogers to give manager Carlos Mendoza more options to bridge to their star closer Edwin Diaz. But some of the minor league capital, specifically Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell in the Rogers deal, used to acquire some of these arms, were met with raised eyebrows.

The Mets president of baseball operations understands how good the team's minor leaguers are, but also understands it needed to be done to compete this year.

"They’re good players, there’s no question they are good players," Stearns said of Tidwell and Gilbert. "Proximity to the major leagues certainly factors into these types of deals. We believe we’ve traded a number of players who are going to play on TV and continue to play on TV and I hope they do… We are rooting for them. We are in a position where we thought these deals made sense, giving good players for good players who can help us in a more concentrated fashion right now. Never easy decisions to make, but it was the right decisions to make right now."

But while Stearns got the outfield bat and remade the bullpen, many felt the Mets would be better off trading for a starter to bolster the rotation. The current starters, outside of David Peterson, have not been able to give the team consistent length and a proven arm could rectify that.

Of course, the Mets did not deal for one at this trade deadline and Stearns explained his thought process.

"As we saw, there were some starting pitchers that were traded but not every pitcher who was rumored to be available was ultimately moved. We were engaged throughout," Stearns said. "There’s multiple ways to build a pitching staff. We focused on the backend of the pitching staff. We’re really happy with the arms we were able to acquire who are going to pitch out of our pen. And we have confidence in the starters not only who are here, who will keep us competitive and help us win games, but also pleased with the development of some of the guys in Triple-A are progressing. They could be part of the mix if needed."

Those Triple-A arms, which include veteran Paul Blackburn, who was not dealt at the deadline, are options. How viable those options are remains to be seen, but Stearns believes the team is good enough to win it all this year and for years to come.

Since being hired after the 2023 season, Stearns has committed to making the Mets a sustainable winner and this trade deadline is just one part of it. So while many saw the moves for rental relievers as going all-in on a "window," Stearns sees it as just another part of his grand plan.

"I don’t view this as windows. Our responsibility here is to give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs and win a World Series every single year," he said. "That’s what this should be, that’s what we’re aiming for. I don’t view this era of Mets competitiveness as a window. I view it as the beginning of a long and sustained competitiveness at a high level. The moves we made help that this year without, in a very material way, sacrificing some really high-end talent that could help us in years to come."