Mets new baseball president David Stearns’ deal hasn’t become public yet, but it’s expected to make him one of the highest-paid MLB execs ever.
(Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman are thought to have the two highest salaries ever at $10 million-plus a year, and Stearns is believed to be in that range.)
It’s interesting to note Brian Cashman makes about half that, at $5 million.
But for the Mets, this is the most important job in the organization, and Stearns checks all the key boxes (analytics expert, Harvard educated, New Yorker, terrific résumé and, not unimportantly, an excellent personal reputation dating back to his time as an intern in Queens).
Also, there was no obvious second choice.
Stearns also is expected to receive significant incentives, likely including for making and/or winning the World Series.
The Buck Showalter call is one of Stearns’ first big decisions. Pluses for Buck:
- He won Manager of the Year for a fourth time in 2022.
- It’s hard to pin the underperformance on Showalter.
- While he can be polarizing, he has the support of star shortstop Francisco Lindor, the influential Met.
- There may not be an obvious replacement (Craig Counsell seems likely to take a year off.)
- He has a year to go, though the $3.75 million is pocket change to the Mets.
The minuses:
- This year wasn’t good, even if it wasn’t his fault.
- He isn’t known to have history with Stearns.
- He only has one year to go.
Bench coach Ryan Flaherty is a rumored Padres managerial candidate if Bob Melvin moves on. … Marlins exec Kim Ng deserves an extension off the Marlins’ surprise performance. … Free Stephen Strasburg. And let him retire in peace.