"Is there a two drink minimum for this comedy club?" - Mets fans not buying David Stearns' bold 'playoff-caliber team' claim
The New York Mets endured an underwhelming 2023 season, managing just 75 wins despite being the team with one of the highest payrolls in the league. However, the arrival of David Stearns ignited hopes of necessary changes.
Mets’ president of baseball operations, despite not adding any high-profile names to the roster in the offseason, believes that the New York side can be expected to play baseball in October this year.
Stearns, who was at the epicenter of Milwaukee Brewers' rise in the last few years, remained bullish about his new team's chances of making it to the playoffs in 2024 during a New York Post interview with Jon Heyman.
“We are a playoff-caliber team,” Stearns asserted. “I think it’s a talented group, and I think it was a talented group last year. And I think the players certainly feel the results on the field last year were not indicative of the talent in the clubhouse.”
Although Stearns is a firm believer in the talents of the players he has at his disposal in the clubhouse, Mets fans are not buying into his words. They let their displeasure known following Sterans' bold claims.
David Stearns' postseason claim receives Mets closer's backing
The Mets have been given a 49.1 percent chance of making the postseason by the Pecota standings projection, while Fangraphs had it further down to 30.6 percent. But Stearns is not perturbed by the projections heading into Spring Training.
“That’s OK, that’s OK,” he responded. “I’m not going to get into internal projection systems. But I’ll tell you, I feel good about our team.”
While the fans might be on the fence about Stearns' claims, star closer Edwin Diaz feels otherwise. Diaz, who is returning from a season-ending injury, sustained at the World Baseball Classic last year, is content with the team's offseason business and believes that the team is capable of making it to the postseason.
“I agree with him,” Diaz said (via New York Post). “I think we are a really good team. Not many people think we are good. But I think we are. I think we’ve got a great bullpen this year. We improved the defense. And I think we will hit. So I think we will be playing good baseball. And our goal is to make the playoffs and get the ring this year.”