David Stearns addresses the media after a disappointing Mets season

New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns held his end-of-season press conference today. The Mets missed the playoffs for the second straight year and finished last in the NL East despite a sky-high payroll and high expectations.

Stearns had to walk a tightrope with his answers, acknowledging his mistakes in building the 2026 squad while also sharing a message of optimism with a team that finished 34-31 after the All-Star break.

It didn't take long for Pete Alonso or the now-cursed phrase 'run prevention' forever associated with Stearns to be brought up. Still, the executive pointed to the team's improved cohesiveness after Andy Green took over managerial duties following Carlos Mendoza's firing, as well as the exciting young talent that flourished as the season went on.

"The disappointment of this season is very true and real. I feel that, we as an organization, feel that, our fan base feels that. There's no denying any of that, Stearns said. "There is also the real foundation here for the level of success and competitiveness that we expect to have, and that is also real."

The Mets' brutally slow start to the season, including a 12-game losing streak and injuries to Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor , was essentially a worst-case scenario for the club and stood out to Stearns when asked what he could do to make sure missing the playoffs in such mediocre fashion wouldn't happen again.

"We and I made a number of decisions that created the potential for almost an uncapped downside scenario," he said. "We had a lot of change. I think that change in New York is probably different than change in other markets. We lived that. I think in addition to that change, we had different elements of our roster that didn't have enough flexibility, so when we had underperformance, it made it very difficult for us to make in-season, on-the-fly adjustments."

With another season of missing the playoffs, and Mets fans quick to call for Stearns's scalp at games and online, he was asked if he feels pressure to turn it around.

"I'm always under pressure," he said. "My job is to put a winning team on the field every year. That hasn't changed from the day I sat up here for my introductory press conference to when I'm sitting up here right now."

Alonso's departure in free agency to the Orioles and his subsequent career year at the plate, combined with the Mets struggling to find a solid solution at first base, raised questions about what he learned from the situation.

"The truth is, in this job, I don't get mulligans. I also recognize that Pete had a tremendous year, and the totality of our production at first base wasn't good enough," Stearns said. "It's my job to ensure that we've got better success across our roster, but for the entirety of the season, better success at first base as well."

The idea that it's hard for players to perform in New York came up repeatedly. It was something Stearns acknowledged to be a truth, and that evaluating which free agents would be up for performing on the big stage is something he'll be considering more in the future.

"This is a unique place to play. It's different here," he said. "I've lived it as a fan, and as an executive, when you win here, it's the greatest thing in the world. There is nothing like coming to this ballpark in a playoff atmosphere and experiencing that. It's equally extreme when things aren't going well, and certain players struggle with that, and I'm cognizant of that."

Stearns said his vision of run prevention didn't work out too well, especially in the first half of the season.

"I think I'll retire the phrase run prevention. I don't know if that one wore particularly well," he said. "I think our pitching and defense was much better in the second half than we were in the first half."

Stearns answered in the affirmative when asked if the club needs more viable starting pitching, saying, "I do think it's necessary to add to our starting rotation. We can do that in a variety of different ways….Over the long term, what we need to do is develop pitchers at the top of our rotation, and I think we've proven we can do that….We also need to have more options, and we need the flexibility to go out and get those options when they're needed."

When asked how the club can prevent key injuries and make sure players coming off injury are ready to go, Stearns said reevaluating everything, including spring training ramp-ups, is on the table. "All of that is being looked at, and I imagine there will be some changes in how we do some of that," he said.

When asked about which way Bo Bichette was leaning regarding his player option, he said, "I have not had those discussions with Bo. He's got the right now to take some space and discuss things with his family and his agent. I'm sure he'll get back to us."

Stearns was once again noncommittal regarding hiring a general manager, but praised the recent addition of Derek Falvey to the front office. Similarly, he said he would discuss coaching staff additions with Green in the coming days.

Stearns said that the club will evaluate Kodai Senga 's role on the team during next year's spring training. "We need a level of production in whatever role he's going to be in to contribute to a winning team."

When asked about the plans for the back end of the bullpen, Stearns praised Devin Williams ' work to get healthy and get some innings in before the end of the season. "He's healthy, he feels great, and we expect him to be a big part of the back end going forward. We also feel good about the younger guys that stepped up in the last few months in a big way."

Stearns said that Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett are progressing in their recovery from elbow surgery and that both have been around the team recently, with the expectation of being available to compete in spring training.

Stearns confirmed that Ronny Mauricio is still considered to be in the mix as an infield option moving forward. "We saw the flash of potential over the last couple of days. That was exciting for us to see, and I think it was great for him to experience heading into the offseason….I think he comes into spring training next year competing for a spot."

When asked what the team could do to take the next step and be contenders, he said, "There's the continued maturation and growth of (our young) group, there is more consistent play and more available play from a group of veterans that we think is really good, and then there's whatever external acquisitions we bring in this offseason, along with the upper level of our (farm) system that we believe will contribute in a meaningful way this offseason."