David Stearns says track record will help Mets go on run

(Rich Storry/Getty Images North America/TNS)

NEW YORK — Promoting a 21-year-old with only 12 games of Triple-A experience under his belt might be seen by some in baseball to be a panic move. The New York Mets insist that isn’t the case with center fielder A.J. Ewing, who was promoted Tuesday ahead of a series against the Detroit Tigers.

“We would not have made the decision if we didn’t feel A.J. was ready to make the jump,” said Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns. “So that’s first and foremost, the situation the big league club is in, and the opportunity that’s here right now is certainly a part of it.”

The opportunity has arrived because center fielder Luis Robert Jr. is on the injured list with a herniated lumbar disc, one of several key position players on the IL at the moment, along with shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Jorge Polanco, infielder Ronny Mauricio, first baseman/outfielder Jared Young, right-handed starter Kodai Senga and left-handed reliever A.J. Minter, who was recently pulled off of his rehab assignment.

You can attribute some injuries to bad luck, like Mauricio fracturing his thumb on a hustle play, and others to high mileage on players over 30, like Lindor. Pitchers often sustain elbow injuries as a result of how today’s game values velocity and arm actions that often lead to torn ulnar collateral ligaments.

That’s not what the Mets are seeing right now.

The type of injuries position players have suffered, and the frequency of them, is undoubtedly worrisome. Juan Soto and Lindor both strained their calves only weeks apart. But Stearns has taken big risks on injury-prone players in recent seasons. Rarely does he shed light on his processes, so his admission that he might need to evaluate the type of players he’s bringing into the organization was telling.

“I think we absolutely have to look at our risk assessment on injured players, or players who get injured once they’re here,” Stearns said. “Certainly, we know we’re taking a level of risk when we bring players in with injured histories. We’re feeling that risk right now, and it hasn’t helped that a number of our players have gotten hurt at the exact same time. It’s not something we necessarily anticipated, but I think that’s a fair question, so we need to look at it.”

No offense to Ewing, a top prospect who was drafted in 2023 with the pick the Mets received from losing Jacob deGrom in free agency, but an inexperienced prospect isn’t the answer to the club’s woes. Owners of the worst record in baseball, Stearns has had few answers as to why the Mets haven’t performed up to expectations. This was always going to be a high-risk/high-reward team, but few could have predicted things going this poorly.

In a press conference that grew contentious at times, Stearns defended his decision-making on issues such as manager Carlos Mendoza and the bullpen makeup, while continuing to express confidence in the Mets’ future fortunes this season. Stearns is still confident that the team he put together can climb out of the cellar of the standings and make a run at a playoff spot.

“I do believe that,” he said. “We have not shown that yet, but I do believe that. I think we have the talent on the roster and character on the roster to make a run. We’ve got a lot of season left. I’m not going to say it’s early — it’s not. We’re a quarter into the season, so it’s not early anymore, but we do have enough season left to make a run, and I think we have the talent to do that.”

Talent alone may not be enough. The lineup might be full of talented hitters, but all except Soto seem to be underperforming at once. Naturally, that has led to questions about the coaching staff in recent weeks, but the Mets have defended their coaches. When pressed for details on why he thinks the hitters will start hitting as they have in the past, Stearns offered little.

“I think we have a lot of players with really good track records in this league,” he said. “We are counting on those track records.”

It’s clear he’s tired of being asked about the team’s shortcomings. He’s tired of talking about Mendoza’s job status, and tired of his processes being questioned. Who can blame him? No one likes having to talk about their worst days at work, and it’s not easy to have mistakes pointed out to an audience of millions of baseball fans.

Still, it’s his job to take accountability, which he is attempting to do by making himself available to the media each homestand. The fans, including the biggest Mets fan of all, owner Steve Cohen, will decide if he’s providing them with sufficient answers.

“Our message to this fan base is we recognize that the first six weeks of the season haven’t been close to good enough. We understand that we’re disappointed in it,” he said. “We also believe we have the talent on this team to turn this around, and our focus is on getting better every single day.”

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