One of the biggest questions when the New York Mets hired David Stearns back in October of 2023 was how much influence he'd bring from the Milwaukee Brewers. The NL's thriftiest team has often stunned the baseball world with what it has been able to do on a shoestring budget.
We're through two offseasons and entering the third, and some things have become clear. Stearns is clearly gun-shy about spending big for free-agent starting pitchers, something that may be his own closely-held belief, but also may be heavily influenced by his experience trying to do more with less back in Milwaukee.