Mets announce former Brewers exec David Stearns as new president of baseball ops

It's a new era for the New York Mets. Again.

The Metropolitans announced the hiring of former Milwaukee Brewers executive David Stearns on Monday. He will serve as the team's president of baseball operations, making him the first person to hold that title in the history of the team. Stearns is a Manhattan native who grew up rooting for the Mets, so he's understandably excited to work for his hometown team.

“There is not an opportunity in baseball more meaningful to me than the chance to help lead this franchise," Stearns said in a statement. "I grew up, in large part, at Shea. I lived and breathed Mets baseball and I’m thrilled I get to do that again."

Mets team owner Steve Cohen, who has reportedly wanted to hire Stearns for more than a year, was just as thrilled to announce the biggest hire in his three years as Mets owner.

“I’m incredibly excited to welcome David back to Queens,” Cohen said. “I said numerous times I wanted to find the right person for this position, and I believe David is exactly that — an experienced executive with a wide range of skill sets that will help push our baseball operations forward. He understands our fans’ passion and knows what it takes to build a sustainable, winning team.”

Stearns, 38, is a landmark hire for the Mets, an organization that has struggled to find competent, forward-thinking leadership over the years. Most recently, Stearns spent seven years as general manager and president of baseball operations for the Brewers, joining the team in 2015 and subsequently building squads that earned four straight trips to the postseason (2018-2021).

Stearns has been eating and breathing baseball for years. In college at Harvard, he wrote for the paper's sports section. He interned with the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates. After graduation, he worked for MLB's main office before taking a baseball operations job with the Cleveland Guardians. After barely a year, in 2012, he was hired as the only assistant general manager in the Houston Astros organization. Three years later, the Brewers hired him. Now, he's the first president of baseball operations for the Mets, and he's not even 40.

There have been a lot of "new eras" for the Mets in recent years. First, it was when Cohen bought the Mets from the Wilpon family in September 2020. Then, it was when Cohen brought executive Sandy Alderson back into the fold. Another new era was supposed to start when the Mets fired Mickey Callaway as manager and hired Luis Rojas to replace him, and again when Rojas was fired and Buck Showalter hired.

Now, with Showalter hitting the road (which was reportedly Stearns' decision), it's time for another new era to begin. But this time, there's new leadership at the top with a proven track record of success. With this move, Cohen made a smart, savvy hire who has the potential to redefine the team and its direction.