Cohen Commits to Stearns Through 2028 Despite Mets’ Collapse

Cohen Commits to Stearns Through 2028 Despite Mets' Collapse

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has declared that president of baseball operations David Stearns will remain in his post through the end of his contract in 2028, dismissing calls for the executive’s dismissal despite the team’s 36-50 record and the recent firing of manager Carlos Mendoza. Speaking on the New York Post’s “The Show” podcast, Cohen pointed to the team’s 2024 National League Championship Series appearance as evidence of Stearns’s capacity and cautioned against short-term decision-making. “I have a contract. It’s a five-year contract. And we’re going to live that contract out,” Cohen said.

Stearns joined the Mets ahead of the 2024 season, bringing Mendoza with him. The club reached the NLCS that year before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2025 season ended in a collapse after the Mets held the best record in baseball for much of the year, and the current campaign has compounded the damage. A 12-game losing streak in April set a tone the roster has been unable to reverse. Mendoza was dismissed last week; his contract had been set to expire at the end of this season, while Stearns’s runs through 2028. Cohen framed continuity as essential to attracting future talent. “Every time you burn and churn, guess what, the next time nobody wants to come,” he said.

The roster Stearns assembled this offseason, with a payroll reported at approximately $330 million – the largest in baseball – has largely underperformed. Departures included Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo. Among the arrivals, Jorge Polanco has not played since mid-April, Luis Robert has been sidelined since late April, and Bo Bichette is posting career-worst numbers. Devin Williams carries a 4.13 ERA. Luke Weaver, with a 2.00 ERA, stands as the clearest exception. The team’s offense ranks second-worst in the National League by OPS at .673, its rotation’s 4.75 ERA is fourth-worst in the league, and the club has committed the third-most errors in baseball – a notable outcome given that Stearns had cited run prevention as a primary offseason objective.

With Mendoza gone and no permanent managerial successor named, the Mets must stabilise their on-field leadership while navigating a schedule that offers little margin for error. Cohen’s public commitment to Stearns forecloses one avenue of structural change, placing the burden of any turnaround squarely on the existing baseball operations framework. Whether the roster can recover enough to make the second half of the season competitive remains the central question facing the franchise.