Stearns’ Small Moves Making Big Difference
The hot bats of the Franciscos, Alvarez and Lindor, Mark Vientos, a clutch J.D. Martinez and many others all deserve praise for the Mets’ run in June, along with the steady hand of Carlos Mendoza. The president of baseball operations deserves credit, too.
David Stearns, 39, has made a lot of in-season moves in his first year at the helm to help the Mets get back to .500 at 39-39 after falling 11 games under on May 7.
Stearns sent $100,000 to the Yankees for catcher Luis Torrens on May 31, and he quickly made an impact, homering twice in a victory over the Washington Nationals on June 5. Four days later, the veteran catcher made one of the biggest plays of the season in London: a game-ending 2-2-3 double play to secure a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
On the same day that Stearns acquired Torrens, he also promoted right-hander Dedniel Núñez from Triple-A, and the reliever has a 2.08 ERA since.
Stearns called up Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse on April 27, and one day later, he delivered a walk-off homer to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. The third baseman has since proven himself major-league-ready with the bat, slashing .298/.358/.570/.928 with nine homers and 22 RBIs. He’s accumulated 1.4 WAR in 35 games, fourth on the team.
Perhaps the biggest move was designating Jorge López for assignment after he was ejected for arguing with an umpire and tossed his glove into the Citi Field crowd as he left the field. The Mets have been 17-6 since. Many Mets have pointed to a team meeting that day as a catalyst for the turnaround.
Photo by David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Stearns also brought up veteran Jose Iglesias on May 31, who has hit .400/.447/.457/.905 in his 35 at-bats and provided the team with something impossible to quantify: vibes.
Iglesias goes by Candelita in his other passion – music – and the Cuban native’s pop tune “OMG” is already a team and Citi Field favorite. It premieres Friday! Thank Stearns if you find yourself dancing along to it at Citi Field this summer.
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