David Stearns sat at Citi Field on Monday and confessed the one thing every Mets fan already knew. He does not get mulligans. Not on Pete Alonso. Not after a last-place finish that will follow him for the rest of his career in New York.
That line is the entire case. The Mets went 74-88, finished fifth in the NL East, and posted their first full-season last-place mark since 2003. They did it on a record $358 million Opening Day payroll. They never recovered from a 12-game losing streak in April. And the franchise home run leader spent 2026 in Baltimore crushing 43 home runs and driving in an American League-best 113 runs while playing every single game.
When the question came about whether he would have fought harder to keep Alonso after the 2025 opt-out, Stearns did not duck.
“I think that’s a very fair question. The truth is in this job, I don’t get mulligans,” Stearns said. “I also recognize Pete had a tremendous year. And the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough.”
Tremendous is the soft version. Alonso became the first player in MLB history to win an RBI title in both leagues. He did it on a five-year, $155 million contract the Mets declined to match or even chase with real urgency. Mets first basemen answered with 18 home runs, 77 RBIs, and a .667 OPS that ranked third-worst at the position in baseball. Jorge Polanco was the primary replacement: two years, $40 million, 37 games. That is the ledger. That is the exhibit.
A Record Payroll Bought Fifth Place
Steve Cohen spent like October was a birthright. What the building received was an uncapped downside scenario, the exact phrase Stearns used when he finally owned the construction of this roster.
“I think as we reflected on how the start of the season went the way it did, we and I made a number of decisions that created the potential for almost like an uncapped downside scenario,” Stearns said. “We had a lot of change. We’ve talked about that. I think change in New York is probably different than change in other markets.”
Different is one word for it. Carlos Mendoza was fired on June 26. Andy Green took over and went 40-41 overall, 27-22 after the August deadline. Rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing combined for 31 homers and 47 steals. Nolan McLean posted a 12-10 record and 3.16 ERA across 31 starts. None of it rewrote the standings. None of it put Alonso back in Queens. The run differential sat at minus-32. Juan Soto delivered a .908 OPS, the second-lowest of his career. Francisco Lindor hit .225 with career lows across the board in an injury-shortened season. The Mets were eliminated in September and spent a miserable weekend in Washington playing out the string, an experience Stearns called miserable for players, coaches, and executives alike.
He even retired his own slogan. “I think I’ll retire the phrase ‘run prevention,'” Stearns said with a grin. “I don’t know that that one worked particularly well.”
Self-awareness is not a strategy. It is a press conference performance.
Alonso returned to Citi Field in September, tied a game with his 300th career home run, took a standing ovation, earned a rare curtain call, and listened to the crowd chant “Fire Stearns.” The fans rendered the verdict in real time. Cohen had already said he would not fire his president of baseball operations. Derek Falvey arrived as a senior adviser reporting to Stearns. The shield stayed up. The record stayed ugly.
Honesty Without Consequence Is Empty
I hear the learning language. “We try to learn from everything, and I think the entire offseason last year was a learning experience for me,” Stearns said. “I give Pete an enormous amount of credit. He went out and had a really good year. Throughout the entirety of our season our first base production wasn’t good enough, and now it’s my job to put a group together next year that plays better.”
Credit costs nothing. Production costs judgment. Stearns identified first base and starting pitching as the offseason priorities, which is the bare minimum after walking the Polar Bear and watching the position collapse. He is highly motivated to make sure last place never happens again. Motivation is cheap when the owner has already granted tenure.
Legacy is the only currency that counts in this chair. David Stearns just spent a full year of his on a 74-88 record, a last-place banner, and an open admission that the Alonso decision is permanent. No do-over. No soft landing. The numbers sit next to his name forever, and Alonso’s 113 RBIs sit in Baltimore.
The president of baseball operations delivered the sentence himself. The court of public opinion already agreed.
