Why Steve Cohen's Call to Keep Mets' David Stearns Is the Right One

Steve Cohen publicly backed embattled President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, announcing plans to let him fulfill his initial five year contract. That decision, while unpopular, is the correct one.

Jun 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns speaks during a press conference before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. The club earlier today parted ways with manager Carlos Mendoza (not pictured). Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Carlos Mendoza's departure may have sent some shockwaves through the Mets' organization, it appears any staff changes will end with his exit.

Despite fans' clamoring for the departure of David Stearns as the team's head of baseball operations, owner Steve Cohen publicly backed his lead baseball executive in an appearance on "The Show" podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.

Mets Owner Steve Cohen addresses David Stearns Job status on The Show with @Joelsherman1 & @JonHeyman

Full Podcast comes out later today. pic.twitter.com/3K3KcmNOf2

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 1, 2026

In an emphatic rebuke of the idea that Stearns is on the hot seat for the team's struggles over the past 12 months, Cohen declared his intention to have Stearns fulfill the remainder of his five-year contract in the podcast appearance. Stearns, who came to New York prior to the 2024 season, is under contract through the end of the 2028 campaign.

While further comments in the interview indicated that Cohen isn't happy about the team's performance level, which Justin Tasch of the Post elaborated on, Cohen also indicated that he is in alignment with Stearns' long-term vision for the organization.

Cohen also pushed back on blaming Stearns fully for the team's failures without acknowledging his role in building the 2024 team, which came within two wins of the World Series in Stearns' first year on the job.

Cohen did offer some explanation as to why a horrid April didn't spark changes, noting he doesn't want to be an "invasive owner" who meddles too much in baseball decisions. Ownership meddling tends to make things worse in the long run, and Cohen has made it a priority to build a stable organization in the long haul.

Why keeping David Stearns is the correct decision for the Mets

It has been fairly obvious that Stearns, who Cohen waited nearly three years to hire away from Milwaukee, would get at least the 2027 season to fix the Mets. The fact that Cohen is essentially guaranteeing he begins 2028 is a mild surprise, but it does make sense given Cohen's explanation to Heyman and Sherman.

Cohen pointed out that he doesn't want to create a perception around the Mets that he will fire people at the first sign of danger, which can make the job toxic the next time it comes available.

Stearns came to New York with an immaculate reputation as well as an organization builder in Milwaukee, so firing him less than three years into his tenure that also includes an NLCS appearance would make it rather difficult to find a capable replacement.

There are clearly mistakes Stearns has made along the way, particularly in terms of big league acquisitions, and Cohen appears to believe Stearns will be reflective about what went wrong going forward.

It wouldn't be surprising to see Stearns revisit the idea of hiring a GM to work underneath him this winter, something they haven't had since he took over in 2023, especially with a pending lockout potentially freezing big league business for months.

Cohen also made it clear in his interview that he is doing a deeper dive into what has gone wrong to try and figure it out, presumably with input from Stearns as well. Even though Mets' fans may not love how Stearns has operated for the past year, Cohen is making the correct decision for the long-term health of the Mets by keeping his top baseball executive around.