Ahead of the Mets’ six-game homestand against the Tigers and Yankees, president of baseball operations David Stearns is speaking to the media. The biggest news over the past couple of days has been the team’s promotion of A.J. Ewing to the major league roster, as the 21-year-old is set to make his major league debut tonight. He’s batting eighth and playing center field.
The Mets, of course, have the worst record in baseball right now at 15-25 despite having one of the highest payrolls in the sport. Since their 12-game losing streak, they’ve gone 8-9, and with just 3.48 runs scored per game, they have the second-worst offense in the sport thus far. Stearns will undoubtedly be asked about the team’s struggles.
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Asked about the team’s decision to promote A.J. Ewing and the situation that the club is in right now, Stearns said, “We would not have made the decision if we did not feel that A.J. was ready to make the jump. 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, but we would not have made the decision to promote A.J. if we didn’t think we was ready for the moment.
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Asked about what makes Ewing ready right now, Stearns said, “a combination of first and foremost performance. He’s a pretty well-rounded player right now.” And he highlighted Ewing’s maturity and ability to handle different situations throughout his time in the organization.
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Asked about the Mets’ under-performance a quarter of the way into the season, Stearns said that the Mets “haven’t been a good enough offensive team” and cited a combination of injuries and players who have been healthy but haven’t performed at their typical level.
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Asked about Ewing’s approach, Stearns mentioned that there aren’t a lot of holes in Ewing’s swing and highlighted his understanding of the strike zone and ability to drive the ball from gap to gap. He also highlighted his speed.
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Asked about Luis Robert Jr.’s lack of progress, Stearns said that “the back soreness has not resolved” and mentioned that the team is consulting with additional specialists. But he said the team has not gotten an indication that the injury could require surgery.
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Asked why he believes the team can make a run at the postseason, Stearns said that the team has a lot of talent on the roster and that there’s enough season left to make a run.
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Asked about rethinking the Mets’ approach to acquisitions given the team’s injuries, Stearns mentioned that the team has to look at risk assessment on injured players and said that the team knows it’s “taking a level of risk when [it] brings in players with a history of injuries.”
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Asked about Jorge Polanco, Stearns said that he needs to get asymptomatic with the bursitis in his ankle. He says that there are really good days, but then condition flares up. He mentioned that the team is following protocols recommended by physicians, which is why Polanco hasn’t been fully shut down.
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Asked about additional acquisitions or trades, Stearns said that the team is always looking to improve and mentioned this isn’t the best time of year for external trades.
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Asked about his defense of Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, Stearns mentioned that the organization has collectively under-performed. He said that he won’t address Mendoza’s status as the team’s manager during his regular media availability and will let his past statement speak for itself.
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Asked about Francisco Lindor’s injury recovery, Stearns said that the start shortstop is scheduled for an MRI within the next 48 hours. He also answered a question about a potential Achilles issue by saying that it is not an Achillies issue.
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Asked about Sean Manaea’s struggles, Stearns said that the team is working to get him to the level he needs to be and mentioned that Manaea wants to get there.
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Asked about the bullpen, Stearns said he thinks it’s functional and that the pitchers in the bullpen and working well in their roles.
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Asked about what he’d do differently in building this team, Stearns said he wouldn’t do a postmortem on this team in May. He cited the track records of the players on the roster when talking about his belief that the team will improve.
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Asked about A.J. Minter, Stearns says there’s at least one more bullpen session scheduled for Minter before he gets back out on a rehab outing. He says the team needs time to get him back to being able to do back-to-back outings.
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Asked about his message to Mets fans, Stearns said, “We recognize that the first six weeks of this season haven’t been close to good enough, and we understand that. We’re disappointed in it. We also believe we have the talent on this team to turn this around, and our focus is doing everything we can every single day to get it there.”
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Asked about deciding to be sellers, Stearns said, “We’re not close to that point right now.”
